


Star Wars Episode IX: Ghosts of Malachor

by not_rian_johnson



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 49,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_rian_johnson/pseuds/not_rian_johnson
Summary: Script for an alternate version of Episode IX. Takes place 3 years after the events of VIII. The First Order rules the Galaxy, their forces outnumber those of the Resistance 1000 to 1. The last spark of hope flickers, while on the horizon new horrors await and old ghosts stir.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**STAR WARS EPISODE IX: GHOSTS OF MALACHOR ******

********

********

**Crawl**

It has been 3 years since the battle of Crait. Led by General Leia Organa, the RESISTANCE has fallen back to regroup on the desert planet of Jakku, making their new base in the remains of a derelict Star Destroyer and recruiting whoever they can to combat the evil FIRST ORDER.

SUPREME LEADER Kylo Ren rules the galaxy with an iron fist. He has proven to be a ruthless and unforgiving dictator, never hesitant to use his growing force powers to extinguish any spark of rebellion from among his ranks.

REY, the last Jedi, guides the resistance in meditation training, teaching them to tune into the force. Her lessons serve to ease the painful scars of battle from their minds and may yet serve to clue them in to the dark horrors that lie ahead…

**Scene 1: Ship of Secrets**

Exterior, night. A camera shot of the moon of Jakku. A FIRST ORDER scouting ship comes into view cutting off the serene vista of the azure moon with its razor-like edges. The scouting vessel beeps out a signal, searching the planet’s surface for the life signatures of Rey or General Organa. They are not detected as the star destroyer’s hull blocks the signal.

Camera cuts to star destroyer interior.

REY, FINN, LEIA, ROSE, and a half a dozen of other pilots and mechanics all kneel on the metal floor in what used to be the bridge of the star destroyer — now the meditation chamber. Due to the angle that the ship rests, the room is tilted 45 degrees from how it would have sat in its prime. The group sits on what used to be the slanted ceiling, now the level floor. Chairs and computer consoles askew on the screen adding to the atmosphere of disconnection from the material world and attunement to the feelings of the force.

Rey speaks to the group, all their eyes closed. The camera will start on her then pan across each of the others as she speaks. 

REY: Reach out. Feel the connection between all things. The pulse within the soul of us all.

[Camera shows ROSE, her eyes closed.]

REY: We are one family. Those lost to us live on through the force. 

[Close up on LEIA, eyes closed.]

REY: It will come to you in times of need if you leave your mind open and willing.

[Camera pans to AFTAB AKBAR, the late general Akbar’s son. His eyes closed.]

REY: Feel the heartbeat we all share. The lifeblood flowing through the creatures of this desert.

[The camera pans slowly over new characters, pilots and mechanics. Their eyes all closed]

REY: It belongs to you as much as it does to me or to the Jedi. Unknowns or storied heroes, there is no difference in the force.

[Close up on FINN, his eyes open. Looking impatient and bored.]

REY: Focus. Feel it flow through you. Give yourself over to the force.

[FINN closes his eyes and tries to focus. His stomach grumbles…. those around FINN open their eyes to give him sidelong glances. He looks embarrassed. He quietly gets up and leaves the meditation room as REY continues to speak.]

REY: Let connection be your sustenance. It is a filling thing, like a forest or a mountain.

[The camera follows FINN as he exits the meditation chamber and comes into the command center where POE and LT. CONNIX listen into the headsets at makeshift holo consoles. BB-8 and R2 D2 beep occasionally in response to what they say.]

POE: Meditation time all done?

FINN: They’re still going on. I can’t focus, don’t think I’ve eaten since lunch yesterday. 

POE: I think that’s where we all are.

FINN: Yeah, well no one else in there seems bothered by it. 

POE: Nothing like a hearty breakfast of Force to tie you over. 

FINN: Where’s Elacia. She back with the rations yet?

POE: Not for a few more hours I’m afraid. She commed in a little while ago. Said she encountered some issues with raiders. She’s on her way now though.

FINN: Good, I’m starved. I could eat a droid.

[BB-8 lets out a nervous beep and rolls away from FINN.]

POE: It’s okay there, buddy. He didn’t mean it.

FINN: Just a figure of expression, sorry.

LT. CONNIX: We’re picking up something on the sensors, commander.

[Poe walks over to her console to investigate.]

POE: What is it?

LT. CONNIX: Hard to tell. Seems like a freighter maybe a large personnel cruiser. No imperial or refurb codes. Coming in at the East port.

POE: Smugglers?

LT CONNIX: Seems a bit slow to be carrying stolen goods.

[R2 beeps and whistles frantically. Poe’s eyes go wide as he rushes to check the readout of the console R2 is hooked up to.]

FINN: What’s he say?

POE: He says you gotta learn to speak droid already, if you want to be helpful.

FINN: I’m working on it!

POE: Go get Leia. 

FINN: but I — 

POE: Do it. NOW!

[Finn rushes from the room.]

[Camera cuts to an exterior shot showing FINN, REY, POE, ROSE, and AFTAB getting onto old speeders in the docking bay of the star destroyer. LEIA is there with them, though she is not getting onto a speeder.]

LEIA: Raiders on the way. R2 shows we should get there first, but hurry back. 

[FINN nods. ROSE puts on her helmet and goggles. REY straps her staff onto her back and gets onto her speeder.]

AFTAB: What if it’s a trap?

POE: Then I’ll throw these beauties here and we’ll get the hell out.

[POE pats his pouch that holds two leather straps in a bundle of cloth. The edges of a pulsar grenade can be seen poking out from his shoddy wrapping job.]

ROSE: Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Ideally we can scrounge the ship for parts, or take the whole thing with us, fly it out if it’s halfway functional.

LEIA: Do what you all can, but be quick about it. The Raiders won’t be far behind.

FINN: Yes Ma'am.

REY: We’ll be safe, Leia.

[Leia hugs Rey.]

LEIA: You better be. Now go.

[The crew starts up the engines on their bikes, each humming to life with an orange glow, and speeds off into the night.]

[We follow the crew as they speed through the dark desert night, a star speckled canvas behind them. There is no dialogue for a number of beats, just a lingering shot of their speeders cutting across the screen from left to right. No sounds but the hum of their engines as they make their way across the dunes.]

[The crew arrives at the East port. The ship they were tracking has arrived. It is a corellian freighter, larger than most. Rickety and damaged, it makes the millennium falcon look new and pristine by comparison.]

POE: Would you look at that.

ROSE: Aurore class by the looks of it, she’s taken a beating.

[AFTAB switches on flare sticks and signals to ask the freighter to lower its ramp. Nothing happens.]

REY: What are you thinking, commander?

POE: Maybe the crew is scared to come out?

FINN: They’re scared? What if it’s rigged to explode on us!?

AFTAB: Trooper’s right, it could be a — 

[He is cut off by REY igniting her saber and taking it to the exit ramp.]

ROSE: Wait!

[But REY has already cut a hole in the metal. The scorched pieces fall to the sand ground with a dull thud.]

ROSE: That was a perfectly good door… I could have just used a breaker.

[She holds up the device]

REY: This way is faster. Come on.

[They hoist each other up, Poe going last and pulling himself into the hull of the ship. Inside we see a dark space, little light aside from that coming in from the new door Rey made.]

AFTAB: Hello!?

ROSE: Anyone in here? We won’t hurt you. We want to help.

FINN (quietly): Who says they want to help us…?

[Poe finds the emergency lighting toggle and flips it on. Amber lights flicker into being along the baseboards.]

POE: Finn, Aftab, you two go down that hall. Rose, Me, and Rey will check the bridge. Call in on the comm if you find anything.

FINN: Got it.

[Finn and Aftab go off down the left side of the hallway. Poe, Rose, and Rey go to the right.]

AFTAB: What are you thinking, trooper?

FINN: Stop calling me that, I’m not a stormtrooper anymore. But I don’t know. I don’t like it here, that’s for sure.

AFTAB: It’s darker than a sarlacc's nethers, nearly as damp too. 

FINN: What, how do you know…

AFTAB: Trust me, trooper. You don’t wanna know.

FINN: I told you….

AFTAB: What’s that? There!

FINN: What’s what… what the...?

[The camera cuts back to POE, REY, and ROSE. Poe is walking a few paces ahead of them while Rey and Rose are talking to each other.]

REY: All I’m saying is that if you like him, you should let him know.

ROSE: I tried, I kissed him and he didn’t reciprocate. It was awkward.

REY: That was years ago, you two have bonded a lot since then. Remember Mustafar? I saw the way he was looking at you that whole trip.

[Poe rolls his eyes and ducks under a fallen ventilation pipe to head into the bridge]

POE: Watch your heads, ladies.

[Rey and Rose follow to find Poe standing in front of the pilot’s console.]

POE: Look, Jakku’s pinged into the auto router. 

ROSE: Explains how an empty ship found its way here. But why?

REY: Something about this feels wrong.

POE: Wrong how?

REY: I’m not sure.

[The commlink buzzes static and Finn’s voice is heard over the line.]

FINN: You guys are gonna wanna come see this.

POE: What is it?

FINN: Just… just come.

[Poe exchanges a glance with Rey. Poe looks at the commlink’s display to check Finn’s location.]

POE: I got you on the nav panel. On our way.

[The camera returns to Finn and Aftab as the rest of the crew joins back up with them. Ahead of them we can see a large circular room with stacks of what appear to be livestock piled on top of one another. As Poe, Rey ,and Rose approach, it becomes clear what they are seeing. The pile of bodies is not livestock, they are humans.]

POE: What in the seven hells...

AFTAB: Dreadful stuff. Maybe a cult. A deathcult. A sith worshipping, bootlicking, shapeshifting cyborg deathcult!

FINN: My thoughts exactly.

ROSE: How could this… who…?

[Poe looks to Rey, the rest of the crew falls silent as she nears the bodies. Her face has gone pale, her eyes wide.]

POE: What is it?

[A beat passes as Rey stands still, staring at the bodies.]

REY: This is wrong. This can’t be.

[She glances from the corpses back to her friends. Finn gives her a questioning look.]

REY: I… I don’t know how to explain…. You have to understand. The force is a web. Rage, fear, everything has a mark. If someone is killed by a saber, or bludgeoned, or even a heart attack, Death leaves its signature in the force, always.

FINN: What do you sense?

REY: There’s just… nothing. Around them is…. void. Not even nothing. They are tears, like holes in the Force. 

ROSE: How?

POE: What does that mean?

[Rey looks at the bodies again then back to Poe and Rose.]

REY: I… I think it means... we should be afraid.

———————————————-

**Scene 2: Supreme Leader Ren**

Interior of the First Order consulate complex on Coruscant. Supreme Leader’s chambers. The walls are draped in black curtains with white accents. The First Order insignia is emblazoned in its center in a near neon gold. The room is hexagonal in shape, at the center its is the crimson throne. Kylo Ren is sitting on the throne. He is dressed in a new uniform more befitting of a Supreme Leader. His black robes remain but are more trim and imperial looking with crimson lining on the underside of his capes. He is not wearing a mask, he has grown a short beard in the passing years. His face looks rigid and severe. New faint scars trace his jaw line, they look like the claw marks of a rabid beast, or perhaps scratches from a victim he choked to death with his bare hands deeming them unworthy of his force powers.

[The camera slowly zooms into the room, its geometric shapes passing the edges make the room appear like an M.C. Escher drawing in stereoscope.]

[There is no dialogue for a number of beats as the camera zooms in. The music score will present Kylo’s theme with a new bass motif; a slow and brooding transposition of the Imperial March. As the camera moves in for an extreme close up of Kylo’s face, he finally speaks.]

KYLO: Enter.

[The camera pulls out to show the wall opposite him slide open left to right and Admiral Hux enters. The years have not been kind to Hux. He sports numerous burnmarks and skin tears on his face, no doubt from Kylo’s many kindnesses. Hux enters the chamber and walks to Kylo.]

HUX: Supreme Leader, the daily report has come in.

KYLO: On with it, then.

HUX: The Farmers on Ryloth are requesting more food. Their rations are running low. Reports of rebel activity have arisen from the Ileanean system, though we have not pinpointed the exact planet. They seem to always be moving. 

KYLO: Tell the farmers that we will no longer need their services at all. Send a brimstone squadron to them. The troops will be pleased to eat some steak. If we can’t find the rebel cell, just fire a nova ray at the Ileanean star, destroy the entire system and be done with it. 

HUX: Yessir.

KYLO: What else?

HUX: There are reports of distress signals from one of the outer rim planets at coordinate S-4 no official name for it in the system. The SOS came rapidly. Curious thing, it carries Sith race signatures. I thought they were all extinct. And lastly, the 502nd battalion suffered great losses in their recent run-in with the raiders on Tatooine. They ask time to recuperate. 

KYLO: Distress from the Sith? I’ll investigate it. Disband the 502nd. They can work in the canteen if they can’t take the demands of war. I’ll train my own replacements for them.

HUX: Your own, sir?

KYLO: Yes. Some old friends of mine have made contact. They will be visiting shortly. I had planned to have them work as my personal guard, but if we need a new scouting unit, they will do nicely. They might take some time to acclimate, they can be… undisciplined… but they are more than up to the task.

HUX: Might I ask who these friends are, sir?

KYLO: The Knights of Ren. They will be here in the morning.

HUX: In the capital? Are you sure that’s the best idea, they are — 

[Hux is cut off by his trachea constricting suddenly. He grasps at his neck and falls to his knees, writhing in pain. Kylo has not moved, his prowess to force choke Hux no longer requires raising his arm to focus.]

[Kylo’s voice is heard in Hux’s mind. It is stern, but calm.]

KYLO: I may have promoted you, but that does not give you the right to second guess my decisions. The next time you raise your tongue against me will be the last time you have a tongue. Do you understand?

[Hux nods and Kylo lets go. Hux falls to the floor gasping.] 

KYLO: I’m happy we had this discussion, Admiral. I look forward to hearing positive progress soon. The First Order Reigns.

HUX: The First Order Reigns.

[Hux turns and leaves the chamber.]

———————

**Scene 3: Ambush!**

Jakku. Exterior night. The Aurore class transport ship. Poe, Rose, Rey, Finn, and Aftab are preparing it for transport back to their star destroyer base. Rose is patching things up in the engine to get it better suited for flying. Poe is in the pilot’s chair familiarizing himself with the controls with Rey as copilot. Aftab and Finn are standing watch.

[Poe speaks into the commlink to Rose]

POE: How goes progress back there, Rose?

ROSE: Fuel cell is burst, the exhaust line is leaking coolant. There’s a coax crosswire sparking under the flux radiator. To be honest I’m surprised it made it here.

POE: How much work do you think it’ll take to get is off the ground and back to base?

ROSE: Despends, do we want to ride into the docking bay in one piece or on top of a fireball about to explode? The longer I chat the more likely the fireball option.

POE: I’ll leave you to it then.

[He turns toward Rey.]

POE: What do you think of this ship? Seems like it’s seen a thing or two.

REY: I think I don’t like it. Wherever it’s been. This is all so unnatural. 

[The static on the commlink cracks. FINN’s voice calls in.]

FINN: You there, commander?

POE: Go for Poe.

FINN: There’s no movement. All seems clear. Didn’t Leia say there were raiders positioned nearby?

POE: She mentioned they’d be shortly behind us. You don’t see anything?

FINN: Nothing. Seems quiet. 

POE: Keep an eye out, they should be here any min — 

[Just then a loud kerthunk is heard from behind them. Poe turns and sees two masked raiders hopping down from inside the ceiling tiles. War clubs raised.]

POE: We’ve got company.

[Finn yelps from the other side of the comm as more raiders swarm him and Aftab.]

AFTAB: IT’S A TRAP!

[Rey and Poe fight off the two in the cockpit. They struggle. The raiders get some good hits in, knocking Poe to the ground. He fires his blaster but it misses the raider and ricochets around the cockpit, bouncing off the polar magnetized steel until the bolt runs out of energy and vanishes.]

REY: Watch it!

[One raider snatches Rey’s saber from her waistband and ignites it. The blue glow illuminates the room. He stares at the weapon in awe, training the tip of the blade on Poe. Poe holds up his hands in surrender. The other Raider speaks in an alien dialect. Subtitles will tell the audience what he is saying.]

RAIDER: This is our quarry. We found the ship. It belongs to us. 

REY (speaking their language): We don’t want any trouble. Something terrible happened here, something is wrong with the force. I want to fix it.

RAIDER (getting angrier): The Force is the problem. Before your magic this was a peaceful system. Begone and take your issues with you.

POE: What’s he say?

[REY reaches out with her mind and flips a switch on her saber, igniting the opposite end of the dual bladed hilt, impaling the Raider holding it. The raider she was speaking with lets out an anguished cry and comforts his friend. Rey force pulls the saber into her hands and impales the second Raider.]

REY: He says he’s tired and needs to have a lie down.

POE: Well, that’s one way to do it.

[Over the comm Finn’s voice comes in.]

FINN: We got the ones out here. More are on the way though I see them about two clicks out. You guys alright?

POE: Yeah, how’s progress Rose?

ROSE: Just about… 

[A rumble is felt beneath their feet as the engines come to life. Poe hops into the pilot’s chair.]

ROSE: There!

[The ship lifts up off the sand and they fly west toward their base.]

[Victorious music swells.] 

[A radial wipe transition takes us back to the star destroyer just as it touches down in the docking bay. The crew hops out of the makeshift door Rey carved into the ship to greet Leia.]

LEIA: Welcome home, have any trouble?

REY: A little, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

AFTAB: Ain’t nothing like a little murder to wake you up in the morning!

LEIA: Murder?

FINN: Just a little murder. Like this much murder.

[He holds two fingers apart.]

LEIA: Well at least it was none of you. What’s the status of the ship?

ROSE: Honestly it’s a miracle we got it here. Thing’s about to fall apart. But we should be able to salvage it for some good parts.

LEIA: Any cargo or crew?

[The group looks to Rey.]

REY (somberly): There was a crew. Families, looks like.

LEIA: Dead?

REY: I… they’re something... I have to talk to Luke.

[LEIA nods.]

LEIA: Connix, comb the logs, see if you can find out where it came from, why they chose here to land. East port means they didn’t want to be seen and they knew something about First Order patrol routes. The rest of you get some rest.

POE: Yes ma'am

FINN: Got it. 

The group departs to different rooms in the ship to recuperate.

[Another camera wipe and we are in the meditation chamber. Rey leviates cross legged, her hands resting on her thighs, her eyes closed. There are a few beats of silence and then a faint blue glow illuminates her face. The camera pulls out to reveal the force ghost of Luke Skywalker.]

LUKE: You called?

[Rey opens her eyes to see him.]

REY: Yes, Master. We encountered something today that puzzles me.

LUKE: We saw.

REY: We?

LUKE: Yoda, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I. We have been watching everything. We saw the ship in the East port.

REY: Then you know what it was carrying.

LUKE. Yes. And no.

[Rey looks at him questioning.]

LUKE: Tell me what you found on it.

REY: There were bodies. Fathers, mothers, and children. Around them there was no Force. No signature of anything having killed them.

[LUKE nods his head quietly, deep in thought.]

REY: What is it?

LUKE: This is troubling. Very troubling.

[Rey waits for Luke to explain.]

LUKE: We do not see the world the same way as we did in life.

REY: What do you mean?

LUKE: All things are connected; people, trees, creatures great and small. Even lightsabers house remnants of the force in their crystals. Nearly everything.

REY: Nearly?

LUKE: Because we are made of pure force energy, it would appear there are some things that we cannot see. We perceive all vessels that the force perceives. In the ship, in the room where you saw the bodies… we saw nothing.

REY: Nothing?

LUKE: I don’t understand it either. Like you said, they are holes in the force.

REY: How is this possible?

LUKE: Rey, no creature living is born disconnected. 

REY: What do you mean?

LUKE: Do you remember me on Achto? How I cut myself off from the force? That must have been done to them, involuntarily.

REY: How? Why?

LUKE: I do not know. I’ll converse with the others and return to you.

REY: Okay, good luck.

LUKE: May the force be with you.

[The camera cuts back to the Resistance control room. Leia is speaking with Poe.]

POE: Who’s to say the Raiders won’t track us back here? We don’t have the firepower to hold them off.

LEIA: We’ll manage. We can move if we have to. Rose said she almost has the destroyer turrets back up and functional. In a couple days they’ll have no chance of infiltrating. Until then we have Rey.

[Poe is troubled, but nods.]

POE: Yeah, we do.

LEIA: What’s wrong?

POE: There was a look in her eyes when the raiders attacked…. I’m glad she saved me, but sometimes I worry…. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her anger.

LEIA: Rey has mastered more than Luke did at her age, I’m confident we’re safe. She’d never turn to the darkside.

POE: I hope you’re right…

[Lt. Connix comes into the control room from the docking bay.]

LEIA: Connix. What news?

CONNIX: General, we have run a diagnostic on the origin on the vessel.

LEIA: And?

[Connix opens a holo map to display it for Leia and Poe to see.]

CONNIX: It appears that the ship hails from the Outer Eim. It was logged to come here via auto router.

LEIA: Who set the course? Who would want to land a ship full of dead bodies here?

CONNIX: I do not believe they were deceased when they started their course, ma’m.

LEIA: What?

CONNIX: The passenger log shows 4 family units. Thermal activity indicates movement and life nearly the whole trip, but four naughts from Jakku all readings stop. No camera, no thermal recordings, nothing.

POE: What could cause that?

CONNIX: We are still determining. An electrical storm perhaps. That’s my working theory.

LEIA: Do you have an exact location the ship came from? You mentioned something about the Outer Rim?

CONNIX: Yes. The berth coordinates indicate a planet at S-4. Unnamed on most charts. Though the Captain's log refers to it as Malachor.

[LEIA’s face darkens.]

LEIA: Malachor?

CONNIX: Yes ma'am. 

[LEIA looks down at the floor and speaks to no one.]

LEIA: God help us all.

——————

**Scene 4: Dark Thoughts**

Interior of the First Order’s consulate complex. Supreme Leader’s throne room. Kylo Ren is there wearing the same new outfit he was in the previous scene. The camera angle will be slightly askew. Any sound effects in this scene are muffled, echoey and distant.

[Kylo walks over to the observation portal to view the amassing first order troops. There are thousands, all falling into formation rank and file.]

[The door to his chamber opens but the camera does not leave Kylo. We hear footsteps approaching him, their sound is echoey and dreamlike.]

[He continues to look out over the troops.]

[The footsteps near him and stop. From the side of the frame we see a black gloved hand reach over and rest on his atop the observation portal. He turns to look and he smiles to see who has joined him.]

[The camera pulls behind the two and we see a woman clad in black and crimson robes much like his. We see them from their backs as they frame the view of thousands of troops practicing their formations.]

[She has brown hair pulled up into a high bun topped off with a platinum and black tiara. She tilts her head to rest it on his shoulder.]

[Kylo kisses her forehead.]

KYLO: I’m glad to share this with you, Empress. 

[The camera shows them from the front. The audience now sees her face. It is Rey.]

[She looks up at him and smiles.]

REY: The pleasure is mine, my love.

[The scene begins to twist, the camera spiraling slowly. The edges of the screen will show a blue or purple glow as we snap back to the star destroyer Resistance base. A bedroom. Rey’s personal quarters. She is meditating cross legged, dressed for bed. She snaps out of her vision, gasping. A look of sheer terror on her face.]

——————

**Scene 5: Luke and Kylo**

The camera cuts away from Rey’s startled face waking from her force vision, to show Kylo Ren, also in his personal quarters, also startled. A match cut of their eyes and overlapping sound effect effects of their shaken breathing will make clear to the audience that Kylo also woke from the same force vision. Kylo’s quarters are mostly stark white with a simple light blue cot and beige blanket. He sits up in bed, sweating. Kylo is wearing a plain black tunic and comfortable white slacks.

[Kylo swings his feet over the side of the cot and stands. He paces back and forth a few times trying to determine what the vision meant. Whether it was a premonition of a possible future or a glimpse into the inevitable. In order to clear his head he enters a side chamber of his room where he keeps a collection of relics. There are blasters, a bowcaster, lightsabers, and in the center on a black obelisk-like pillar, sits his most prized possession; Darth Vader’s mask.]

[Kylo stands in front of the mask and looks at it intently, his brow furrowed.]

KYLO: Grandfather.

[The mask does not respond. Though Kylo pauses as if he hears it speaking back to him.]

KYLO: You failed in your final moments. Fell to the lightside. Where you failed, I will be victorious.

[Kylo places a hand on the helmet and closes his eyes, deep in thought.]

[Suddenly, a voice.]

VOICE: You’re a fool, kid.

[Kylo jumps back, startled. The helmet is talking to him.]

VADER’S HELMET: You realize that, right? You’re on the wrong side. I redeemed myself.

[Kylo narrows his eyes and points an accusing finger at the mask.]

KYLO: No, grandfather. You were wrong! It wasn’t redemption, it was weakness. 

[A blue blur comes out of the mask and we see it take the form of Luke Skywalker.]

LUKE: Love is not a weakness, Ben. Your grandfather didn’t fail. I’m the one who failed you. 

[Kylo turns to Luke angrily.] 

KYLO: You tricked me, I thought it was grandfather.

LUKE: Listen to yourself, kid. Calling him “Grandfather”, so formal and revering. Dismissing the best thing he ever did as a failure. 

KYLO: He seized the galaxy, ruled it. He wanted to make it better and he had the power to do so. You could have ruled with him but you turned down the chance at making a great empire!

LUKE: Is that what your new empire is, great? Are you truly improving the world, Ben? 

KYLO (growing angrier and louder): I don’t have to listen to you. You’re a lie! You tried to kill me!

LUKE: You don’t have to listen to me, you’re right. But would you really listen to Anakin?

[Kylo looks as if he is about to respond, but the words escape him.]

LUKE: Don’t you wonder why it’s me you keep seeing and not him? Why your hallowed “grandfather” won’t appear to you? It’s because you won’t let him, Ben. You don’t believe he exists, not really. You believe in, you love, Darth Vader. You adore the temptation that drew him away from his wife, from his children, from me. You idolize the pain and the darkness that haunted him in life. That still torments him with endless guilt even now, long after his death. He can’t let himself appear to you, not like this.

KYLO: You’re wrong. You’re lying! You’re keeping him from me!

LUKE: Ben, I’m not the one lying to you. You’re doing plenty of that yourself.

KYLO: Be quiet!!!

[Kylo stretches out his hand and pulls his fingers tight together, focusing on Luke’s ghost across the room. Luke’s eyes go wide. His hands come up to his neck out of muscle memory.]

[Luke speaks through labored breaths.]

LUKE: How… are you doing this…?

[Kylo tightens his grip, lifts his arm up. Luke’s force body raises into the air, his feet dangling. His body begins to convulse, his limbs twitch in pain.]

LUKE: Ben… please...

[Kylo lets go and Luke falls to the floor, catching himself with his hands.] 

KYLO: I have been tuning myself in to control the force, uncle. That includes you. Come here again. Taunt me again, and I’ll show you pain you never could have dreamt of while you were alive. 

[Luke is downcast, saddened.]

LUKE: I don’t know how you’ve done this… I don’t want to know… I wasn’t going to give up on you, but okay. If that’s what you want, you’ll never see me again.

KYLO: It is.

LUKE: Alright. Goodbye, Kylo.

[Luke disappears.] 

[Kylo is left alone with his trophies.]

———————————————

**Scene 6: Ghost Stories**

Back at the resistance star destroyer base. Interior morning. Leia is meeting with Poe, Finn, and Rey in the makeshift control room. 

LEIA: How goes the turret restoration, Commander?

POE: Aftab was able to borrow some power converters from a nearby moisture farm.

REY: Borrow?

POE: Well, we need them more than the farmers do.

REY: What about their equipment?

[Poe turns away from Rey to face Leia.]

POE: Anyway, with the new power converters, Rose says she’ll have the turrets up and running within the next few days. Then Raiders won’t be a problem for us.

LEIA: That’s fantastic

POE: Yeah, much more of this ship is functional than we thought.

LEIA: Thank the force.

FINN: Too bad we don’t have the manpower to fly this thing.

LEIA: One step at a time. 

REY: Did we find out anything about the cruiser?

LEIA: Connix did some digging. It appears the civilians you found were alive when they embarked.

FINN: What does that mean?

LEIA: Either they had an illness that caught up to them, some sort of plague I’ve never seen, or they were intercepted. Either way, I don’t like it. Rey, did you talk to Luke?

REY: I did. He thinks someone must have cut them off from the force involuntarily. 

LEIA: I don’t understand how that would kill them though.

REY: Me neither. Could it be Sith technology?

LEIA: I haven’t seen or heard of anything that could explain it. Though Connix did discover where they hail from.

FINN: Where? 

[LEIA turns on a nearby computer console to show a chart of the outer rim.]

[The digital readout draws a line for the estimated trajectory back to the planet at coordinate S-4.]

LEIA: Here, in the Outer Rim. 30, maybe 35 parsecs. Ancient planet called Malachor.

REY: Malachor… Why is that name familiar?

LEIA: It is a planet with a dark history. Most places have one tragedy. Malachor has many. It was the location of the Republic's greatest shame, and the Jedi’s biggest failure.

FINN: What happened there?

POE: Ghost stories, none of them true.

REY: What do you mean?

LEIA: You have to understand, much is written, but few know where legends end and truth begins. All we really have are stories. And according to every story, Malachor has seen more than its share of tragedy. 

FINN: What do the stories say?

LEIA: Some 4000 years ago in the days of the old republic, it is said that there was a great war between us and the Mandalorians. A Jedi named Revan was the Supreme Commander of the republic forces. 

REY: I haven’t heard or read anything about this Revan.

LEIA: The Jedi wouldn’t document him, or the war. It was a dark time. 

POE: If he ever existed at all.

REY: Why do you doubt?

POE: It’s a children’s story. We used to talk about Revan around the fire. It’s nonsense.

[Leia shakes off Poe’s comment and smiles softly then continues.]

LEIA: To save the galaxy from the Mandalorian threat, Revan lured them to Malachor. Once they were there and kept busy with our armada, he ordered the firing of a weapon called the Mass Shadow Generator. 

REY: The Republic used a superweapon? Doesn’t sound like them.

LEIA: As I said, it was a dark time. The gravity of the explosion was so massive that it crushed everything around it. Thousands of Mandalorians and Jedi and Republic ships were consumed in the blast. We won the war, but more of our troops died than would have had we let it go on. 

FINN: You said the ship came from there, how is that possible if the planet was destroyed? 

LEIA: Some say the planet healed itself over time. Others insist Revan never existed at all, that the Jedi and Sith had a terrible war and which led to Malachor. That a weapon was fired that turned all their bodies to stone, hundreds of force users frozen in time. 

REY: That’s terrible.

LEIA: There is one legend that might explain what we are seeing, on the ship. Though of the stories, it is the one I’d hope is the least true, for all our sakes.

[Leia leans forward and the group huddles in close to hear.]

LEIA: In one story, an ancient sith called Darth Nihilus. Some say he was the lone survivor of the Mass Shadow Generator, other stories describe him as the physical manifestation of the dark side of the force. Whatever his origin, Nihilus learned to drain the force from living things. He was driven mad with a hunger for force. He consumed the pulse of the planet and every living thing on it in one moment of feasting. 

POE: So you think this Nihilus is back?

LEIA: I don’t know what happened on Malachor. No one knows the truth, but whatever ghosts haunt that place, it is best to let them rest. 

REY: But we have to know what caused the tears in the force, the bodies on the ship. If we do nothing, whatever it is will come for us.

LEIA: Rey, there are some battles that are not worth winning.

FINN: I’m with Rey on this. We have to stop it, whatever it is.

POE: I’m not afraid of campfire stories.

[Leia nods.]

LEIA: I thought you might say that.

[A questioning look comes across Finn’s face]

[Lights appear from outside the window and the revving of an engine is head outside.]

POE: What’s that noise?

REY: I know that engine…

[Finn throws open the shutters and we see The Millenium Falcon hovering outside, piloted by Chewie.]

[The group looks at LEIA questioningly.]

LEIA: I was never one to listen to authority or turn down dangerous missions when I was young. I think it’s a bad idea, but I figure if you’re going to, you’d better get heading out. Your luggage is already on the Falcon. Get back here quick, R2 spotted a First Order Scouting ship overhead yesterday. We might not have long till they find us.

[Rey hugs Leia.]

FINN: We won’t let you down, general.

POE: I’ll keep us safe.

REY: We’ll be careful.

[Chewie motions to them from the cockpit.]

LEIA: May the force be with you.

—————————————

**Scene 7: The Knights of Ren**

First Order Consulate complex on Coruscant. Supreme Leader’s throne room. Kylo Ren is speaking to a hologram of a stormtrooper stationed on a far off planet. The trooper’s armor is black with gold markings indicating she is a member of the Supreme Leader’s Elite Task Force.

KYLO: Have you found it, CLA1337?

CLA1337: We have finished the first round of investigation, sir. No sign of the artifact.

KYLO: Look again. I felt its presence. I know it is there.

CLA1337: Yessir. I will report back.

KYLO: Thank you, I have no doubt your men are more than up to the task.

[There is a knock at the chamber door.]

KYLO: I have business to attend to. Good luck, Sargeant.

[CLA1337 salutes Kylo and the call ends.]

KYLO: Enter.

[The door slides open and we see six masked men enter carrying a variety of weapons. Each is dressed similarly to Kylo in dark colors, though theirs look more patchwork and stitched together from discarded sets of battle armor. They walk toward Kylo and he stands to greet them.]

[Enter: The Knights of Ren. Vicrul carries a scythe blade and draws his energy from other people’s fear, Ap’Lek wields a giant Mandalorian Axe that he uses as a walking staff and only speaks in questions. Kuruk has a rifle, he is the pilot and tactician of the group. Trudgen uses a large vibrocleaver and collects trophies from his enemies, Ushar has a war club and doesn’t talk much but relishes in killing.]

VICRUL: The great Kylo Ren, in the flesh, our Supreme Leader, we should bow, boys!

[Vicrul bows mockingly to Kylo.]

KURUK: You’ve done well for yourself, Ren. The years have served you kindly.

KYLO: Thank you, my friend. And on behalf of the First Order, welcome to you all.

AP’LEK: What is the Order? Why was it the First?

VICRUL: You requested our audience, after years of silence, why would we still serve you. Why call you Ren? The cozy position has made you soft, no doubt.

KYLO: I assure you all, my powers have not waned. In fact, that is why I have asked you here. I want to impart what I have learned. Teach you in the ways of the dark side as you all once taught me.

AP’LEK: What have lions to learn from lambs?

KYLO: I am no lamb, my friend. 

VICRUL: Prove it.

[Vicrul dashes at Kylo, drawing his scytheblade. With one quick motion Kylo doges the blade much like Luke dodged his saber on Crait. Kylo glares at Vicrul and jerks his head to one side. Vicrul’s body flies into the wall with a thunk. Ushar and Trudgen advance on him. Kylo suspends both of them in the air without moving a muscle.]

KURUK: I believe you have made your case, Ren. We respect your power and we will serve you now as we did during your rise to power.

KYLO: Thank you.

[He lets go of Ushar and Trudgen, who fall to the floor. Vicrul gathers himself and joins the others.]

AP’LEK: What star is north? To what port do we sail?

KYLO: You will come with me, I will teach you to harness the darkside. Not here though, my subordinates fear the ways of the force, and I do not want to cause panic.

VICRUL: Panic is fuel. Fear is water.

KYLO: In due time, my friend, but for now, we practice in peace. Come, I have something to show you all.

—————————-

**Scene 8: To Malachor**

Onboard the Millenium Falcon jetting through hyperspace, blue streaks among a field of black are seen outside the window. Chewie, Finn, Poe, and BB-8 are in the cockpit, Rey is meditating in the back.

FINN: What do you think of those stories Leia told? 

POE: Chewie, what’s this?

[Poe holds up a cable chewed in two, its frayed edges sparking causing the overhead light in the cockpit to flicker.]

POE (to Finn): It’s all just stories made up to scare young kids. 

CHEWIE: BREEEE-BRUUU

POE: What do you mean it was the porgs, are you still keeping them on board?

[BB-8 is trying to patch another sparking wire.]

CHEWIE: BRUUU — ROOOOIIII!!!!!

POE: Oh, so now there are no porgs, you just found it this way?

[Chewie nods as an old looking porg comes out of one of the panels to crawl over his feet, he feels it and gently pushes it back into the paneling.]

FINN: But you’ve seen the force work.

POE: Finn, buddy, listen. The Jedi and the Sith, they’re scary. They’ve done some messed up stuff to each other. But all the rest, this Revan and Nihilus, shadow whatever weapons. It’s parables, lessons to learn from. 

FINN: And what are these lessons then?

POE: Leia’s point was true, there are some battles not worth winning. 

FINN: Then why are you out here, why sign up for a mission you don’t believe in?

POE (losing some of the gusto and getting serious): There’s certain things you do for people you care about, you and Rey, BB-8... I... 

[BB-8 rolls over and cuddles his head against Poe’s leg].

POE: If you’re going off on some fool errand, bet your sweet ass I’m coming along to look out for you.

[FINN smiles.]

[Camera cuts to Rey, sitting cross legged on the floor of the Falcon. She is levitating the disassembled hilt of her dual bladed lightsaber around her head. Slowly cleaning its many pieces with a washrag as she concentrates.]

[Luke appears near her.]

LUKE: You’re getting good at that. I should have taken better care of mine.

REY: What do you want?

LUKE: Hey, what’s wrong, why the cold shoulder?

REY: I felt you give up on Ben. He is hurting and you gave up on him.

LUKE: Rey, I didn’t give up, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want help. If I kept visiting him it would only make him angrier. Best to leave him in his sorrows and reach out if he comes to us.

REY: When.

LUKE: Rey, don’t put your trust in him. He’s too far gone.

REY: Whatever. 

LUKE: He also isn’t the same as before.

REY: What do you mean? 

LUKE: He has more power now, more than I can explain… He can hurt force-ghosts. He choked me.

REY: How is that possible?

LUKE: I have no idea… just be careful. Don’t put your trust in him, not unless he shows he’s ready to change first. 

REY: Thanks for the great advice.

[They sit in silence for a moment.]

LUKE: There’s something else on your mind. Say it.

[Rey hesitates before she speaks.]

REY: I’m sorry I was rude. I’ve just been angry lately. What do you know about Malachor? Is there any truth to what Leia said?

[Luke sits down beside her.]

LUKE: I’m not sure. Malachor has a strange energy, I can’t see much there. It is clouded from my vision, but I can feel great pain from the planet.

[Rey nods in understanding.]

LUKE: Something terrible happened there, it has a darkness in its past, but something much more recent. There is a fresh wound there, a being in need of healing.

REY: What kind of being?

LUKE: I can’t tell, the signature is similar to that of the darkside, but it is purer, more flesh than force. 

REY: Flesh?

LUKE: Just be cautious, okay?

REY: I will be, thank you.

[The Falcon hops out of hyperspace and the camera cuts back to the cockpit.]

POE: Rey, get in here, you’re going to want to see this.

[A few moments later Rey appears at the archway of the cockpit.]

FINN: Look at that…

[BB-8 whistles in awe.]

[The planet below them has deep purple landmasses and pale blue seas, its clouds swirl white above the surface.]

POE: She’s pretty, alright. Reminds me…..

REY: Of what?

POE (softly): Home. 

REY: Where is home, Poe? I realize I’ve never asked.

POE: Yavin 4. But it’s in shambles now.. so I guess Malachor doesn’t look that much like it, not anymore. I left for a reason. It doesn’t matter. This is no time to get all mushy. Let’s do what we came here for.

FINN: Ready to find out if there’s truth in the legends?

REY: Let’s do it.

————————————

**Scene 9: Amrath**

The Millenium Falcon lands on Malachor. Finn, Poe, Rey, Chewie, and BB-8 exit the Falcon wearing respirators. The music should be slow and foreboding. Occasionally a low fog will swoop across the screen, giving the characters chills.

POE: What’s the plan?

REY: I’m not really sure. I sense something… something odd. We’ll follow the feeling and try to find out what happened to the bodies on that ship. 

[They hear a growling hiss from some unseen beast in the distance.]

FINN: And not get eaten. That should be part of the plan too.

[Chewie brays in agreement.]

REY: Let’s head this way.

[She leads them due west.]

[As they walk they will pass old ruins and odd structures, the planets’ colors and geography become almost entrancing. The group walks through an area full of strange rock obelisks and swooping cliff drops to the sea below, the music should be distant and ethereal.]

POE: What are we looking for, exactly?

REY: I’m not sure, something is off about this planet. Signs of what may have happened to the people on that ship.

[A distant gurgling is heard, slow and violent.]

FINN: I have a bad feeling about this.

REY: Let’s stick together, there has to be something around that can tell us what happened.

[The group comes upon a complex of black stone buildings, windows and doors carved into the rock.]

FINN: Housing units?

POE: I wouldn't want to live here.

[BB-8 chirps low and ominously.]

POE: You said it, buddy.

REY: This place feels… this whole planet… it’s so empty. 

[They head inside the apartments. They see chairs and alien decorations.]

[Rey begins to shiver.]

FINN: Are you alright?

REY: It’s so cold here.

[Poe goes over to investigate some of the furniture in a corner of the room.]

POE: Cold?

FINN: You can have my jacket if you want, feels fine to me.

[Finn takes off his jacket and gives it to Rey. She puts it on.]

REY: Thanks.

[She is still shivering.]

POE: Check this out.

[Finn and Rey go over to him.]

FINN: What is it?

POE: Whoever was here left is a hurry.

[On the shelf is a plate of half eaten bread and pink butter.]

[Poe touches the bread.]

POE: Still soft.

[Chewie eats the bread.]

POE: Chewie!

[Chewie brays.]

POE: I don’t care if you’re hungry.

FINN: What do you think they saw?

POE: Not sure I want to know.

[They walk into a room deeper in the house, what appears to be a kitchen.]

[Rey continues to shiver. The jacket not helping.]

FINN: Still cold?

REY: Aren’t you? It’s freezing here.

[Poe and Finn look at each other, the air feels like a late summer afternoon.]

[Rey heads further into the house. Around the corner of the kitchen into the next room without them.]

REY: Whatever let’s just find wha — 

[She stops mid sentence.]

POE: What is it? 

[He and Finn come into the room where Rey is.]

FINN: Oh...

[The camera reveals what the characters see.]

[They are in a bedroom. On the queen sized bed lay the bodies of two creatures, humanoid with bright crimson skin pointed ears, and tentacles hanging from their upper lips, holding each other. A small youngling lay between them.] 

POE: The hell are these things?

FINN: I have no idea…

REY: Sith.

FINN: How can you tell, isn’t that a religion like Kylo and Snoke?

REY: The Sith race. I saw images in the Jedi texts. 

POE: There’s a whole species of assholes?

[Poe gets closer to investigate the corpses]

REY: The religion started with them, but they weren’t all darkside or evil. I thought they were all extinct.

FINN: What killed them?

[Rey’s shivering intensifies.]

POE: I don’t see any bruises or cuts.

FINN: What do you sense, Rey?

[Rey closes her eyes and reaches out into the force. She furrows her brow to concentrate. Then after a few moments she opens them again and shakes her head.]

REY: There’s, nothing.

POE: What do you mean?

REY: It’s just like the bodies on the Aurore. If the force is a carpet, they are rips in the fabric. I don’t understand it.

POE: I wonder…

[He motions to BB-8. The droid rolls over to him. Poe taps a few buttons on his head and a draw opens in BB-8’s stomach. Poe removes a small scalpel and walks over to the bodies.]

REY: What are you doing?

POE: Research.

[Poe lightly scrapes the skin of one of the SIth with the scalpel and returns to BB-8, taps another button, places the scalpel into a smaller white compartment, and closes both drawers. BB-8 chirps a short melody and the lights along his head and base brighten a light blue color as his head begins to spin slowly in place beeping on intermittently.]

FINN: What was that?

POE: I gave him a sample of the Sith DNA. He’ll search the surrounding areas to see if there are any more of them nearby.

FINN: He can do that?

POE: Of course.

[BB-8’s head stops spinning and he chirps to indicate he is done with the scan.]

POE: What did you find, buddy?

[The droid conveys a series of beeps and chirps.]

POE: Hmm. Okay. He says there are 4,832 signatures matching these that appear to be in the same state. And 1 that does not.

[Rey, shivers more than before.]

REY: Same state? Does that mean?

POE: It seems like the nearly 5,000 Sith on this planet have died the same way as these.

FINN: What was the 1 difference?

[BB-8 lets out a series of soft tones.]

POE: Uh, huh. Okay. He says the difference appears to be that there is one live Sith left.

REY: Can he lead us to it?

FINN: You want to find the thing?

REY: It might know what happened to the rest of them.

POE [to BB-8]: What do you think?

[The droid chirps confidently.]

POE: He says he can, and it isn’t far.

REY: Lead the way.

[The group follows BB-8 and Poe back outside of the buildings. They head deeper into the canyon where strange trees and moss begin to grow. A camera swipe can be used to show the passing of time. As they march closer to BB-8’s readings. Chewie keeps his bowcaster raised high in case of an attack.]

FINN: How much farther?

[BB-8 chirps.]

POE: Not far.

[They pass small encampments of temporary shelters. Each with the bodies of more dead Sith.]

FINN: I don’t like this place.

[Chewie lets out a soft roar in agreeance.]

REY: Wait, did you hear that?

POE: Hear what, I…

[Rey pulls a finger up to her lips to shush him.]

[They all listen closely and we hear what sounds like sobbing.]

[Finn advances closer to the noise, looking over a large tree root down into another small camp. He motions to the others that he sees something. They all look and notice a small Sith child, likely 10 years old, crying, hunched over the bodies of what must be his parents.]

[The group looks at each other to plan what to do, but before they can speak, the youngling looks up at them, shrieks and takes a few steps back.]

[Poe and Chewie reach for their weapons.]

FINN (slowly raising his hands up above his head): We aren’t here to hurt you. We’re friends. 

[The child looks nervous, but does not run.]

FINN: Would it be okay if we talked? Do you speak Common? 

[The child hesitates, then steps forward a little and nods]

FINN: What’s your name?

CHILD: A.. Amrath

FINN: Good to meet you Amrath. I’m Finn. These are my friends, Poe, Rey, Chewie, and BB-8. We want to help.

REY: Pleased to meet you.

POE: Hey kid.

AMRATH: How?

FINN: We can get you food, shelter. Someplace safe to stay.

[Amrath says something in Sith as he looks for the words in common.]

AMRATH: you... no force?

[Finn and Rey exchange a look. She hides her lightsaber.]

FINN: I’m not a force user, I promise. It’s okay, you’ll be safe with us.

[Amrath nods.]

FINN: Can you tell us what happened here?

[Amrath shakes his head.]

FINN: You’re scared, I can tell. We’ll get you someplace safe, get you fed, and maybe then we can talk?

[Amrath nods.]

FINN: Sounds like a plan, what do you think, guys?

[The group nods. BB-8 chirps happily.]

FINN: Let’s head back to the Falcon.

[As they leave the camp they hear something in the distance.]

POE: What’s the noise?

[REY peers through the moss to her left and sees a group of half a dozen stormtroopers. Their armor a deep black, one of them has gold stripes on her shoulders, she is shouting commands to the others.]

REY: Troopers. 

[Poe looks to see. The troopers are combing the area searching for something. Their first in command can be heard.]

CLA1337: We’re close, it should be in the vicinity. Eyes sharp.

POE: Black Armor, that’s new. Know the color, Finn?

FINN: Black? I didn’t know they actually existed. On Starkiller base rumor was they were the Supreme Leader’s elite task force. Shadow Troopers. They are only sent on sensitive classified missions. I’ve never seen one in person.

POE: Let’s hope we don’t get too acquainted.

REY: What are they looking for?

POE: I don’t want to stick around long enough to find out. Let’s head back.

ENK839: Sargeant, I believe it’s here.

CLA1337: Let’s see. 

[She walks toward ENK839 to investigate, he breaks some wood out of sight of the resistance group and reaches into a hidden vault to retrieve an ancient looking crate, silver with platinum reinforcing braces to protect it from all manner of shock and damage. The camera stays at Poe’s perspective as we watch ENK839 open the lid to show whatever is inside to his commander.]

CLA1337: Good work. Let’s load it up and return to Coruscant. The Supreme Leader will be pleased.

[Amrath takes a step behind Finn to further hide, but he steps on a branch that lets out a loud cracking sound.]

[CLA1337 looks in their direction and presses a button on the side of her visor.]

CLA1337: Thermal shows four adult life forms and one child. You lot guard the package and get the ship ready. I’ll be quick about this.

[The troopers nod. The commander branches off from the rest to approach where the group is hiding.]

FINN (whispering): What do we do?

POE: Run!

[They dash out from the underbrush and head back to the area where they left the Falcon. Amrath has trouble keeping up with the others due to his short legs.]

FINN: Is it okay if I carry you? We gotta get away.

[Amrath nods. Finn picks up Amrath in his arms and they continue to run.]

[Laser bolts shoot through the brush with deadly aim, straight for Rey and Poe’s heads. In an instant Rey force deflects the bolts away.]

[Amrath’s eyes go wide.]

POE: You guys go ahead, I’ll hold them off. 

[Poe fires back through the trees.]

REY: Don’t be stupid. We all go together.

[Something rolls through along the ground in front of the group. They look just in time to see what it is. A grenade. Finn dives out of the way under a log, covering Amrath. Chewie kicks the grenade away but it explodes before it goes far, knocking the wookie back. The screen goes white, the sound cuts off. We enter Poe’s perspective. Slowly we start to hear a ringing in his ears. Then his labored breaths.]

[Poe looks to the right and sees Finn getting up with Amrath. They seem safe. He looks ahead and sees shards of metal and loose circuitry burnt up and flaming along the ground. Poe blinks. It’s BB-8. Or pieces of him. The droid is no more.] 

[Poe hears a deep pained scream, looks again and sees that Chewie is grasping his left leg. What’s left of it. The blast blew his left leg away, now only a bloody stump remained. Rey is shouting but Poe can’t hear what she’s saying. He blinks again then the sound comes.]

REY: Everyone get to the falcon! GO! I’ll handle this. 

[Poe helps Chewie up, Finn hoists Amrath, and the four of them run as fast as they can back to the ship.]

[Rey turns to face the shadow trooper. She draws her double saber and ignites both ends it as the rest of the group runs away back to the Falcon.]

CLA1337: So you’re the famous Jedi scum.

REY: Big words for an errand girl who is about to stop breathing.

[The shadow trooper laughs and walks closer to Rey.]

CLA1337: Let’s see what you’ve got, Jedi.

[Rey swings for the trooper, but she dodges nimbly backward.]

CLA1337: Tsk, tsk, I expected better. 

[Rey dashes forward, too close for a second evasive maneuver.]

REY: Reah!

[She swings her saber at the trooper’s head.]

[The blue blades stop midair, hitting something.]

[Rey and the audience both realize what has happened at the same time: the shadow trooper has drawn her own lightsaber to block Rey’s. But this one is different. Its blade is absent any light, pure black, the edges spark off a thin white outline.]

REY: What?

[The shadow trooper laughs.]

CLA1337: A gift from the Supreme Leader. Jealous?

[CLA1337 twists her blade and pushes forward, forcing Rey to step back. Then the trooper brandishes her blade, leveling it toward Rey much like Kylo’s favored stance.]

CLA1337: Let’s dance, Jedi.

[Rey slashes and swings, her outrage at her wounded friends fueling her strength.]

REY: RAH!

CLA1337: So calm and cool headed, you are, miss Jedi.

[Their blades connect with a sharp clash of beam on beam.]

[Rey strikes again, getting more angry. The trooper deflects the strike.]

[They exchange blows, each blocking and parrying the other. Rey grows frustrated at how evenly matched they seem.]

REY: That’s a Jedi’s weapon. You have no right to it.

CLA1337: You clearly know nothing of the darksaber. And to think The Supreme Leader speaks so highly of you, he would be ashamed.

[Rey leaps over CLA1337 and slashes from above but her attack is negated by the trooper’s quick reflexes.]

[Rey flips away from the trooper and force pushes her. CLA1337 flies backward into a tree with a thud. But gets back up immediately as if nothing had happened.]

[A shadow passes above them, a cloud? No. Rey looks up to see a corsair class cruiser hovering above.]

CLA1337: I think I’ve had enough fun with you. I’ve got to get going. Perhaps we can finish this another time.

[She leaps upward and small thrusters ignite on the bottom of her boots, carrying her up into the cruiser’s open bay doors.]

[Rey glares up after her. CLA1337 salutes and the bay doors close and the cruiser flies away into hyperspace.]

[Rey’s commlink clicks on with static.]

POE: You still alive?

REY: Yes. For now. Where are you?

POE: We just boarded the Falcon. Chewie needs medical attention asap. Still fighting that trooper?

REY: No, it’s over.

POE: Roger that. One our way to you now.

REY: Thanks, see you soon.

[Rey stares up in the direction of the cruiser.]

[The camera fades.]

——————————————————

**Scene 10: Darkside Training**

[The Coruscant moon of Elos. The Knife - 9, the knights of Ren’s ship cuts through the thick cloud cover of the moon. Its black and silver edges part the cloud with a violent glee. As the ship touches down on the dirt surface, the music swells. The ship’s door lifts and the group gets out as the music calms and gives way to the sound of the rain beating the moon’s surface.] 

VICRUL: Remind me why we’re here.

KYLO: So that I can teach you without interruption.

AP’LEK: What do storms teach the land but to bow?

[Kylo and the knights walk into a nearby cave to seek shelter from the rain.]

KYLO: Come, sit down. Lose the helmets. I need to see your eyes.

[The knights sit and take off their helmets. They are all younger than their demeanor and dress might suggest. Most are in their early twenties. Vicrul is bald with black eyes. Ap’Lek has medium length blonde hair, a patchy beard and a kind face. We see that Ushar and Trudgen are twins with dark skin and white hair. Kuruk looks exactly like you might expect someone named Kuruk to look. Cardo is younger than the rest, likely no older than 15 or 16.]

KYLO: You all dabble in the dark side, use it to enhance your combat skills and perception. But it is time you had proper training.

[The knights nod.]

KYLO: Think of your darkness, everybody has one. Something that boils your soul. Were you unloved? What fire did you start inside yourself that won’t go out? Bring your anger. Vicrul, how do you feel about me leading the First Order? 

VICRUL: I.. I honor your strength, Ren. You deserve all titles and praise.

KLYO: Liar. You think my involvement in politics is deplorable. You believe true leaders need no governance to prop them up. 

VICRUL: I live to serve.

[But his face and demeanor make it clear that Kylo is correct.]

KYLO: You wish you were Ren, isn’t that true? Your strength could guide the knights without the fallacy of government. 

VICRUL: I live to serve, Supreme Leader.

KYLO: You’re ashamed a volatile, emotional man like me has the position. It should go to someone with more calm.

[VICRUL grits his teeth as he speaks.]

VICRUL: You are Ren, your word is law.

KYLO: I was born great, the son of a general and a war hero. Nephew to the great Luke Skywalker. I didn’t earn my place. Did I? Did I!?

VICRUL: NO. You didn’t. I taught myself the scytheblade. I had no family legends, so silver spoon! I should be Ren!

[Vicrul lunges at Kylo and wraps his hands tight around the supreme leader’s neck.]

KYLO: Good. 

[Kylo calmly removes Vicrul’s hands from his neck and motions back to where the knight had been sitting, Vicrul sits back down.]

KYLO: I hope you hate me. Allow the anger to settle in your bones. Use it.

[Kylo turns and looks over the others.]

KYLO: You all have anger, sadness, insecurities. There is a shadow that always looms. The Jedi are liars, the darkside is not the force, not a malevolence waiting with its teeth. The force is not light or dark, it only exists. Its darkness or so called light comes from us. The Darkside nothing more than the realness. It is not suppressing our emotions, but embracing them, letting them guide us.

[KYLO draws his saber and turns the hilt over in his hands. Displaying it for the Knights to see.]

KYLO: The force is not mine or yours or the Jedi’s it belongs to us no more than the air does. It has no will or plan. It is simply power, unflinching. Bring your darkness. Bring your hate and loneliness. 

[Kylo looks at each of the knights one by one, starting with Ap’Lek.]

KYLO: Think of your ex-lover, how you did not let yourself trust her fully. If you had perhaps she wouldn't have felt distant, wouldn’t have left in search of something else. You are to blame, Ap’Lek. You drove her way by fearing she would leave. Hold that self hate.

[He looks at the twins.]

KYLO: Ushar, Trudgen. If you two had not been away betting on illegal midnight podraces, your mother would have had someone to protect her, wouldn’t she? When the Raiders came. When they left her bruised and weeping. It’s because you weren’t there.

[The twins grumble under their breath.]

[Kylo turns his gaze to Kuruk.]

KYLO: Kuruk, you resent the First Order. It’s an insult that I lead them. Despite multiple requests, they’ve done nothing to help the starving of your clan. 

[Kuruk looks down at the ground, tightening his grip on his weapon.]

KYLO: And you, Cardo. You told your brother he was a waste. That the factory lost work due to his mistakes. Told him the family would have one less mouth to feed if he was gone. When you found his body in the equipment room, you knew it was your fault. You killed him, didn’t you?

[Cardo weeps silently.]

KYLO: You are all worthless. You’re worse than worthless. The galaxy is made darker because you are in it. 

[The Knights begin to murmur.]

KYLO: You aren’t worthy of using the force, you shame the title “Knight”

CARDO: I think you’ve made your point.

KYLO: It’s true! What are you without the weapons and the armor? You are boys, lost and scared. You don’t have lightsabers because you don’t deserve them!

VICRUL: Quiet Ren!

KYLO: Why did I fall into your little club to begin with, because I thought I needed friends? Had I known what puddles of flesh you are, I would have stayed far away!

AP’LEK: ENOUGH!

[The air around them crackles and lighting appears on Ap’Lek’s fingertips. It sparks all around the room, shocking every knight and Kylo briefly then it dissolves and fades away.]

KYLO: Good. Don’t bury it. The guilt, the shame, the anger, and self hate. Let it be the spark.

[The camera cuts away.]

——————————————

**Scene 11: Homeward**

Onboard the Millenium Falcon. Poe is tending to Chewie’s wounds as Rey flies. Finn and Amrath are sitting at the holochess table. Throughout this scene Poe’s lines should be delivered with impatience and anger. He is not handling BB-8’s death well, though he knows this is not the time to process.

POE (shouting forward to Rey): Chewie’s in a bad sort. How much longer till we’re back?

REY: Not far, maybe 20 parsecs.

[Chewie lets out a pained roar.]

FINN (to Amrath): So. You’re a SIth, what’s that like?

[Amrath responds in the Sith language, Finn doesn't understand and there are no subtitles for the audience.]

FINN: You don’t say!? Sounds interesting.

[Amrath points nervously toward Rey.]

AMRATH: F… force. Yes?

FINN (More serious now): Uh… how do I say this in a way you can understand. Me no force. Her force.

[Amrath looks at Finn confused]

REY: I’m nice, I promise. I had to use the force to save us from the guns!

[Amrath hisses at Rey.]

REY: Sheesh. Children are the worst.

FINN: He’s just scared!

POE: You know, you might have better luck with that once we get back. We do have a translator droid. That’s kind of 3PO’s whole purpose.

FINN: I think he’s learning!

[The Falcon’s commlink clicks on. Rey presses a button to allow the transmission.]

LEIA: Rey, Poe, Finn you all still in one piece?

POE: Oh we’re swell, general, just had a little run in with some troopers. Most of us still have our limbs.

[Chewie grabs Poe and roars in his face.]

POE: Too soon? 

LEIA: Good to hear. Find anything helpful?

REY: There’s a…. child. Needed help. We’re bringing him back with us. 

LEIA: A child? Okay. Hurry. We had a little trouble here ourselves.

REY: Trouble?

LEIA: A First Order scouting bike. We intercepted it. Unsure if the trooper relayed our coordinates on or not. But we’re holding him. Rose fixed up the destroyer’s prison block doors to function. Hopefully we can get some information.

REY: Sounds promising. We’ll be back shortly.

LEIA: May the force be with you.

———————————————

**Scene 12: The ETF**

Onboard the Elite Task Force’s corsair class cruiser. The interior is pure white except for the cushions on the spare chairs and bedding which are all red. CLA1337 and her troopers are in the ship, each busy at their station. ENK839 and SRO14 are manning the guns while WLR008 is piloting the craft, FA48, the only other female trooper, is checking the radar for any nearby craft and CLA1337 is detailing their excursion in the log as well as checking the ship’s readouts for any abnormalities or damages.

WLR008: The jump shouldn’t take long. We’ll be to Coruscant shortly.

CLA1337: Excellent.

[She types in an account of their new goods into the ship’s tablet.]

CLA1337: Good hunting today, crew. The Supreme Leader will be pleased.

ENK839: Did you kill any of the rebels?

CLA1337: Sadly, no. Their wookie will need surgery and I scrapped that droid they had, but everyone else is fine.

WLR008: How was fighting the Jedi? I’ve always wanted to face on.

CLA1337: Honestly quite disappointing. She’s just a girl with a saber.

FA48: Pitiful.

SRO14: I was hoping we’d have a real challenge.

CLA1337: I’m certain our meddle will be tested soon enough, my friend.

[The colors around the ship change as it comes out of hyperspace. and slows to landing speed.]

WLR008: Here we are! Home at last.

[The Coruscant night sky is illuminated from below by countless neon signs advertising cantinas, twi'lek gentlemens clubs, and death-stick shops. The streets are bustling with patrons and business despite being late at night.]

SRO14: I missed this.

FA48: The capital never sleeps.

[The corsair passes the entertainment district with its luminous colors and comes to the old Senate quarter. The signatures of time can be seen as they pass each area’s architectural leanings, from the high concept of the Republic’s pride, to the utilitarian block structures of Empire, then the newer sleek obelisks of the First order.]

[The corsair stops at the First Order Consulat Complex’s north wing, the Supreme Leader’s offices. The troopers exit, FA48 and SRO14 carrying the crate they found on Malachor.]

[The guards salute the Task Force and open the doors for them.]

CLA1337: Good work, men. Through here. Place the crate there.

[She points to a wall near the door to Kylo’s chambers. SRO14 and FA48 carry the crate over and place it where she points.]

SRO14 (as they set it down): There.

FA48: Need anything else from us, Sargeant?

CLA1337: That should be all for tonight. Rest up. 

SRO14: You two up for a round of drinks at Sebulba’s?

FA48: Only if you buy the first round. 

SRO14: We should make ENK839 do it, he found the crate.

FA48: Good logic.

[CLA1337 laughs heartily.]

CLA1337: I’ll hand this off to the Supreme Leader then perhaps I’ll join you all.

FA48: Okay.

SRO14: Understood.

[The two head out to join the others of the task force.]

[CLA1337 dials a number on her commlink. Somewhere inside the building the Supreme Leader’s alert system buzzes to indicate he has a call, but there is no answer.]

CLA1337: Curious.

[She tries another comm code. This one Kylo’s personal number. Her wrist comm clicks as he picks up.]

KYLO: CLA1337! Hello!

CLA1337: My apologies for calling your personal code, Supreme Leader. But there was no answer on the regular line.

KYLO: That’s alright, I’m off planet. Working with the Knights of Ren training.

CLA1337: Many apologies for the interruption, sir.

KYLO: They’re sleeping. We finish the next step in the morning. How goes the mission?

CLA1337: We encountered the Jedi girl, Rey and her friends. But they did not sway our goal. 

[She turns on the video feed from her comm to show Kylo the crate.]

KYLO: Would you mind opening it?

CLA1337: Of course, Supreme Leader. One moment.

[She loosens the platinum braces and opens the lid, lifting it off of the crate for Kylo, and the audience to see what is inside.]

[Despite the size of the crate, there is only one object inside. The crate is lined with protective anti-grav foam insulation to protect the one thing inside. There, in the center, amid a velvet cushion, it rests. Not bulky like Kylo’s helmet or those of the knights of Ren, the headpiece would not provide physical protection to its wearer. Rather than a helmet it is a small, white facemask in the shape of a skull with large holes for the nose and eyes. Behind the holes is a black fabric. A strip of dark silver crowning runs down the forehead between the eyes to the bridge of the nose. Above the eyes are two vertical streaks of blood red paint.]

[Cello and piano chords slowly swell, sounding much like a human voice attempting to scream a haunting melody.] 

KYLO: Good work, CLA1337. You serve me well.

CLA1337: The First Order Reigns.

KYLO: The First Order reigns.

[The camera pulls into a close up of the mask as the ghostly minor key howls of Darth Nihilus’ theme hit their crescendo. Then the screen wipes to black and the music slowly fades.]

————————————————————

**Scene 13: Amrath’s Tale**

The Resistance Star Destroyer base. The Falcon has just arrived. 

[We see a nurse wheel Chewie away to the medical bay. He is whimpering in pain. Finn, Poe, and Rey approach General Leia.]

LEIA: Welcome back.

POE (rushed): What did you find out, general?

LEIA: Pardon?

POE: From the trooper. The hostage. What’d he say?

LEIA: I wouldn’t call him a hostage, prisoner maybe. Nothing yet. 

POE: He’s in the cells, right? I’ll get the info out of him.

[Poe rushes off toward the prison cells.]

LEIA: Poe, wait!

[He is gone.]

LEIA: Is something on fire, what’s his deal?

[Finn and Rey exchange a somber look.]

REY: It’s BB-8… He didn’t make it.

LEIA: Oh dear. Poor Poe, I suppose he can interrogate the prisoner if it’ll lift his spirits. I — 

[Leia noticed Amrath for the first time, standing half behind Finn.]

LEIA: Where are my manners… Hello there little one.

[Amrath hides further behind Finn.]

FINN: He’s a little shy. 

LEIA: Understandably so, new place, lots of new faces.

FINN: Do you know where 3P-O is? We could use his services.

LEIA: Last I saw him Rose had taken him into the control room. The destroyer’s computer was being finicky for her. I bet he’s still there.

FINN: Thank you.

[Finn, Rey, and Amrath head off in the opposite direction than Poe went. The camera follows them. We open into the destroyer’s control room. C-3PO seems to be arguing with a computer. Rose is laying on her back, head on the underside of one of the consoles.]

C-3PO: What a rude, insensitive, imperialistic, out of touch machine!

FINN: Rose?

[She comes out from under the console, but hits her head on the underside of the plastic.]

ROSE: Damn.

[Finn rushes over to her.]

FINN: Careful!

ROSE: Thanks, I’m fine. What’s… oh … who is this?

[She nods her head indicating the Sith youngling.]

FINN: This is my friend, introduce yourself. He’s friendly.

[She kneels down to his level and holds out her hand and points one finger at herself.]

ROSE: Hello, I’m Rose.

[Amrath points one finger at himself to emulate Rose.]

AMRATH: I... Amrath.

ROSE: Hello Amrath. What brings you here?

[Amrath looks up at Finn and tilts his head to the side questioningly.]

FINN: He doesn’t speak common very well. We were hoping C-3PO could help us understand him and him understand us.

[C-3PO is heard grumbling.] 

ROSE: Definitely. 3PO, come over here for a minute.

[C3PO walks over to the group, muttering under his breath.]

ROSE: Not getting along with the ship’s AI?

C3PO: Let’s just say there are certain intelligences for whom the word is a generous overstatement.

[Rey stifles a laugh.]

FINN: 3PO, this is a friend of mine, I was hoping you could interpret for us.

C3PO: It would be my pleasure sir, I have quite grown to prefer organic sentience over artificial ones. Did you know that there are 90,431 types of artificial dialects. I find that excessive being as there only exists half that many organic languages.

[Nobody responds, they just stare at C3PO. A few moments of silence pass.]

C3PO: What?

FINN: So… you’ll translate?

C3PO: Yes, happily.

FINN: Great. 

ROSE: I’m going to get back to working. Good luck

FINN (awkwardly): Yeah. You too.

[Finn, C3PO, Amrath, and Rey sit down on the nearby crew chairs.]

FINN: You speak Sith, right?

C3PO: Yes. Despite its reputation among much of the droid community, I find the Sith language to be quite beautiful. Particularly its genitive and plural conjugates.

FINN: Perfect. Can you tell Amrath that I want to ask him a few questions about what happened?

[C3PO nods and speaks a language full of hard consonants and short vowels.]

[Amrath’s eyes brighten and he smiles excitedly, having a being he can talk naturally to. He responds in kind.]

C3PO: Amrath is happy to make my acquaintance and he says you are a very kind human.

FINN: Oh, well I appreciate that.

[Amrath speaks again, 3PO translating as he talks]

C3PO: I can answer your questions. But the girl one. The Jedi. Please go away.

[Rey looks downcast.]

C3PO: I’m sorry mistress Rey, it just appears that you make the boy uncomfortable. I do not know why. Personally I think he’s being quite rude.

REY: No, it’s alright. I’ll go. 

[Rey gets up and leaves. When she does, Amrath relaxes more, letting out the tension and stiffness in his posture.]

FINN: Thanks for trusting me, and coming with us Amrath.

[C3PO speaks Finn’s message in Sith, then Amrath responds. For the following stretches of dialogue Amrath will respond to each of Finn’s comments and vice versa, C3PO translating for them. For the sake of brevity their responses will not be called out specifically in this script except for the Common translations.]

C3PO: You saved me and have been kind, thank you friend Finn. 

FINN: Can you tell me how long you and your family had been on Malachor?

C3PO: We arrived before I was born. I don’t know how long.

FINN: Tell me about those camps you were living in.

C3PO: They were temporary shelters. The Citadel gave our houses to the rich Sith. We couldn’t afford any place so we slept in the camps.

FINN: That must have been difficult, I’m sorry.

C3PO: It was okay. We were together.

FINN: And, Amrath. If you don’t mind…. Can you tell me what happened to the other Sith?

[Amrath is quiet for a moment, reflecting before he speaks.]

C3PO: There was a kind of wind. Hollow. Dark. And so cold. 

FINN: A wind?

C3PO: It is hard to explain. My family was fine, we all were. But a ship came. And then we were not.

FINN: That’s when they died.

C3PO: No. It wasn’t like death. It was something else. Like their souls were…. eaten 

FINN: Eaten?

C3PO: That’s what the others were saying. Like a wind of hunger. I heard it, but it did not eat me.

FINN: Why didn’t it eat you, Amrath?

C3PO: I don’t have it, the force. The other kids all made fun of me. Called me mean names. But when the ship came, the wind swallowed them, and I was left alone. The force is bad. It killed them.

FINN: What ship?

C3PO: The others said it came. I didn’t see the ship, but I saw the man it brought.

FINN: Just one man did all that?

C3PO: Yes. He brought the bad wind. He wanted their spirit. He was hungry. 

[Finn leans forward.]

FINN: Can you tell me what the man looked like?

C3PO: He was tall. Wore a hood. Long black robes. He was a human. 

FINN: Any other details?

C3PO: I don’t know… all humans look so similar. But he did have a weapon.

FINN: What kind of weapon?

C3PO: It was silver metal. Like the Jedi’s. But its light was red. It had three lights. One long and two short on the sides. Like this.

[Amrath makes a small cross shape with his fingers.]

[Finn’s eyes go wide.]

———————————————————

**Scene 14: Dark Thoughts 2**

The outer terrace of the First Order Consulate Complex. The sun is setting in the background casting overlaying reds and yellows into the sky. Smoke and ash fill the air. There has been a battle, but it is over now, all that is left is the blood. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren paces in front of a legion of his stormtroopers.

[There is no dialogue in this scene. The sounds are muffled and echoey. Distant screams can be heard.]

[A group of beaten and battered Resistance soldiers are in handcuffs being guarded by troopers.]

[Kylo walks over to another cloaked figure and puts his hand on her shoulder. It is Rey. She is wearing the same dark robes as earlier, the same silver tiara. Her hair is pulled up in the same regal bun, but singes run along her cape and dirt and blood smear her face. She and Kylo both look somber.]

[Rey stands at a podium and addresses the crowd of troopers. Her words are twisted and inaudible.]

[The doors behind Kylo and Rey open and two armed stormtroopers emerge from inside the building, walking on either side of a hooded figure in shackles.]

[Rey says a few more words. The crowd cheers for her.]

[Rey walks back to stand by Kylo’s side.]

[The troopers reach the front of the balcony in the center view of the waiting crowd. They remove the hood from their prisoner’s head. We see that it is Finn. His face bruised and bloody.]

[Rey looks at Kylo, he nods.]

[She walks forward to Finn. The Troopers step back.]

[Rey reaches into her black cloak and draws her saber.]

[Finn looks up at her in horror.]

[She ignites the blades, Finn’s fearful eyes illuminated in their blue glow.]

[She raises the saber high and brings it down forcefully toward his waiting neck.]

[The camera twists and the colors all swirl together.]

[Back in the Resistance Base we see that Rey has collapsed in the hallway. Her hands grasping at the metal rivets for stability.]

[Rey tries to call for help, but the words won’t come and nobody is nearby. Everyone is busy with their missions and their objectives.]

[Her vision ends and she is left in the corridor, terrified and alone. Like she knows she has always been.]

——————————————————

**Scene 15: Darkside Training 2**

The moon of Elos. Thick sheets of rain pour from the clouded atmosphere. Kylo and the knights are trudging through a chest-high water, purple mists surround them. They hold their weapons above their heads as they wade through the blackwater.

CARDO: How much farther, Ren?

KYLO: Not far, friend.

VICRUL: I don’t understand why you couldn’t show us the next lesson in the cave. It was warm there, and dry.

KYLO: Oh, I could have. I wanted to see who among you would complain. We have a winner.

[Vicrul grumbles under his breath.]

[They walk in silence for a few more beats before the water thins and after a few paces they find themselves on dry land again.]

[Kylo holds up his hand to motion to the knights behind him to stop. Then he puts a finger to his lips.]

[As they advance they come upon a recessed dell, surrounded on all sides by thick mossy vegetation.]

[Coming over the precipice, we see that down in the gully below them is a flock of brightly colored birds. They are about the size of a penguin with pink and blue feathers. Some of them are eating, others are playing with one another, one baby is flapping its wings attempting to fly.]

KYLO: I am going to show you the power you might unlock, if you adhere to my training. The power we can share. Every living thing is a vessel to the force. Humans, animals, even birds. 

[Kylo touches the dirt in front of him with his hand and closes his eyes. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, the knights feel a rumbling. But they do not feel it with their mortal senses, they feel it deep in their marrows, in the pulse of the force inside themselves. They notice, perhaps for the first time, the connectedness between all things. The air between them is thick with force, they feel its gravity in each other.]

[Then, just as they connected to the plant life, the other knights around them, and the native species, there is a change. A wind from inside the bodies of the birds. Something whooshing out of the animals and toward Kylo. A moment later there is a thunk, then two, then three, and a dozen as every bird in the nest falls lifeless to the ground. The gravity around Kylo him pulling the fabric of the force tighter as he consumes their essences.]

AP’LEK: By what dark sorcery?

VICRUL: I… whoa.

KYLO’s voice in their heads: This is the great lie of the Sith and of the Jedi, by which both cults have brainwashed thousands: the idea that we are subject to the will of the force. It, in fact, is subject to ours.

—————————————————————————————

**Scene 16: The Prisoner**

The Resistance Star Destroyer base on Jakku. Prison cells. Poe is questioning the captive Stormtrooper. 

[The Trooper is sitting in his cell, his wrists shackled. Poe is on the other side of the bars, asking his questions.]

POE: Tell me again about how you got caught.

TROOPER: You honorless rats ambushed me. I was on a routine scouting mission and you jumped me. Stole my credits, and threw me in here.

POE: We can’t steal what isn’t yours.

TROOPER: I’m no thief! I put in honest work. 

POE: Work terrorizing civilians, no doubt.

TROOPER: You’re one to judge, the resistance kills hundreds in collateral damage every time we meet. Even when you do hit First Order ships, it’s often kitchen hands and new recruits you take out, not murderers.

POE: I don’t care.

TROOPER: Of course you don’t.

POE: First Order is first order. You had a choice, you knew what the first order was and you joined anyway. All of you. That’s why you hide behind those stupid helmets. So you don’t have to look the rest of us in the eyes.

[The trooper takes his helmet off. We see that his hair is shorn close to his head in a buzz cut. He is in his mid 60’s with a salt and pepper five o’clock shadow.]

TROOPER: Yes, “joined” I remember the day I joined. After my wife contracted blacklung in the spice mines, and collectors came for the debt we owed. The First Order is the only option for people like me. 

POE: You still made that choice. You sold your soul to the devil. All of you.

TROOPER: Say that to the kids the The First Order bought off poor parents while they were just infants. Tell them that they had a choice. I don’t love the politics, but they make life livable. 

POE: If you hate The First Order, you could help us. Give us intel to bring them down.

TROOPER: And replace them with what? There is always going to be a machine, kid. There will always be a government that punks like you want to burn down. Better the devil I know.

[Poe begins to lose his patience]

POE: Did you alert them to our position when you found us?

TROOPER: You’re wasting your time. There is no good and no bad side. Better to just enjoy the time you have and stop all this war nonsense. Go live your life.

POE: Answer the question.

TROOPER: I don’t have to. I’m trying to help you out, kid. I’m serious. Go find yourself a nice little planet on the outer rim. Start a family. That’s what this fight is all about, right?

POE: It would only be a matter of time.

TROOPER: Before what?

POE: Before the FIrst Order expands and kills us all.

TROOPER: Stop being stupid. Who do you think we’re killing? Random civilians? No. It’s only people with ties to the resistance. Rebels. If the Resistance disbanded today there would be no more deaths. We would have peace in the galaxy tomorrow.

POE: Stop it!

TROPPER: Why? Am I starting to make sense?

[Poe unlocks the cell door and storms inside, grabbing the trooper by his collar.]

POE: You listen to me! My best friend was just destroyed! A droid, an innocent, cute, loyal, BB unit with a heart of damn gold! Ten times better than any man I’ve ever met.

TROOPER: Maybe that’s your problem, choose a friend with a brain next time.

[POE punches the trooper in the stomach.]

TROOPER: Tough guy. Does that make you feel better? Think beating me will bring your droid back?

[POE punches him again.]

POE: It sure can’t hurt.

TROOPER: You’re a disgrace.

POE: Did you send our location before you were apprehended?

[The trooper just laughs.]

[Poe pulls a battery core out of his pocket, its metal half shattered shell is circular with white and orange paint. He touches two of the exposed wires together. A bright blue spark dances along its length and the air around its heads sizzles.]

POE: You see this? This belonged to my friend. It’s all that’s left of him. He’s gonna help make you talk.

TROOPER: You’re a disgrace.

POE: Tell me if you sent the coordinates and I’ll let you go.

TROOPER: No you won’t.

[Poe sparks the battery core and shoves its head into the trooper’s neck. He gasps in pain and muscle spasms run down his body from head to toe.]

POE: Tell me.

[The trooper shakes his head.]

[Poe zaps him again. The man’s muscles convulse violently.]

POE: TELL ME!!

[The trooper opens his mouth to gasp for air, or maybe to speak, no sounds come.]

POE: I don’t enjoy doing this, but I have to protect the light.

TROOPER: What if…

[He struggles to finish the sentence.]

POE: What if what?

TROOPER: What if I told you that I didn’t? That you’re safe.

POE: I’d assume you were lying to me so we’d be unprepared.

[The trooper smiles slightly.]

TROOPER: That’s what I thought.

POE: You’re right, I am wasting my time…

[POE stabs the man again with BB-8’s battery core, holding his arm in place this time, pressing hard against his skin. Poe is not watching him this time, he’s looking away, staring blankly at the empty wall ahead. The trooper’s body spasms violently until there is a popping noise and the smell of burnt flesh fills the room. Then the muscle spasms stop. Poe does not look at the trooper’s body, instead, he removes the core puts it back in his pocket and turns to leave the cell.]

[As Poe moves to take his first step out of the cell, there on the other side of the bars, he sees Rey. Tears of disappointment and shame in her eyes.]

POE: Rey, I — 

[Before he can explain himself she darts away and down the hall.]

POE: REY!

[But she is gone.]

——————————————————————

**Scene 17: Sebulba’s**

Sebulba’s Nightclub, entertainment district, Coruscant. The bar is lit in reds and purples, and is filled with all manner of humans and aliens. Twi'lek and human dancers move to the music on the catwalk for drooling customers. 

[At a table in the corner sits a group of 30 - 40 year old humans the audience will not recognize. It is the Supreme Leader’s Elite Task Force. They are out of their shadow trooper armor and instead are wearing civilian clothes. They all have the same haircut, buzzed short, no facial hair. ENK839 has brown hair and carries a look of world weariness about him. SRO14 is olive skinned and is missing one eye. WLR008 is pale and has what looks to be a tribal face tattoo. FA48’s buzzcut is slightly older than the others, so her curly jet black hair has begun to grow back and is about half an inch long. CLA1337 is not at the table. The group is talking but keep their voices low so as not to be heard by the other patrons.]

WLR008: So what do you think happened? All those bodies, my money is on a plague. 

FA48: Plague? Everyone knows Sith have fantastic immune systems. They are force innate. I hear it helps them stave off sickness.

SRO14 (grimly): There are some things we aren’t meant to know.

ENK839: Let’s just drink and focus on forgetting.

FA48: I would but….

[She holds up her empty glass.]

ENK839: Speaking of, where is our fearless leader anyway?

[WLR008 shrugs]

[CLA1337’s voice is heard heading toward them.]

CLA1337: Make way, coming through…. I said move it!

[The crowd parts and she is seen carrying a tray of drinks varying in color and size. Two of them are on fire with a pale blue flame, and one appears to have a live space slug in it.]

CLA1337: Order’s up, boys!

[She sits down to join her squadron. CLA1337’s buzz cut is just long enough for us to tell that she has deep red hair. One of her eyes is golden, the other is brown.]

ENK839: They get my order right this time?

CLA1337: Hutt blood and liquid plasma. Stirred counterclockwise with one 4 week qweeksar larva.

[She passes him the drink with the space slug in it.]

ENK839: Perfect, thank you. 

[CLA1337 passes all the other drinks around the table.]

FA48: Thank you, Sargaent.

CLA1337 (Quietly): Hush, no ranks.

[FA48 looks slightly embarrassed.]

ENK839: How many people in here do you think are active duty?

WLR008 (looking around the room): Well, maybe 20% have our terribly fashionable hair. I bet at least half of those are sanitation or armory. So what’s that leave us, 20 or so battle hardened troopers?

SRO14: They burn their days away, we burn ours, there’s no difference.

FA48: Sure we’re different, how many of them get to say they’ve met jedi and traitors?

SRO14: Traitors?

CLA1337: You didn’t notice?

SRO14: Notice what?

FA48 (whispering): That was FN2187 we saw today?

SRO14: You’re kidding. I thought he looked familiar.

FA48: Yeah. He had that child. Looked like it was a rescue.

WLR008: I wish we did rescues.

ENK839: I thought we’d be making the galaxy better or more secure, I don’t blame him for deserting.

FA48: I agree, all we do is gather intel and collect things. Kill resistance informants. 

SRO14: The First Order may not care about helping people, but don’t envy what we can’t see. I imagine the resistance is just as dogmatic and rigid. We get paid better here than we would there, that’s for sure.

FA48: Sometimes I agree. I try not to think about it.

CLA1337: Enough.

FA48: Pardon?

CLA1337: Do you know how good we have it now? Most of you are new, but SRO14 was there in Snoke’s days. He remembers how horrid it was. Endless hours. No rec leave. The Supreme Leader is good to us. He trusts us with important work, pays well. When was the last time any of you wanted for anything since being in his services?

ENK839: But don’t you ever wonder if we’re on the right side?

SRO14: There is no right, no wrong. Only plenty or squalor.

FA48: I just want to feel pride in what we do. I want to lie in bed and know the world is better off because of my actions.

CLA1337: The First Order does not kill innocents, we do not maim the old or less abled. That’s more than the Resistance can say.

WLR008: Let’s change the subject… SRO14, tell me about your first battle. When did you know this was the life you wanted?

[SRO14 laughs and smiles. He takes a sip of his drink and leans forward.]

SRO14: It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

————————————————————————

**Scene 18: Hux’s Findings**

First Order Consulate Complex on Coruscant. Docking bay. We open with a short scene showing the Knife-9 entering the atmosphere and landing. The Knights of Ren and Kylo exit the ship and enter the building. Swipe cut to Admiral Hux meeting Kylo in his chambers with the Knights of Ren flanking him, three on each side. Vicrul is idly floating his scythe blade with the force and Ap’Lek is holding a sustained miniature lighting storm in his palm, letting the bolts dance around his fingers.

[Admiral Hux enters the room and approaches Kylo Ren, he hesitates briefly upon seeing the knights in their garish attire and foreboding masks his hesitation is a mix of disgust and fear.]

KYLO: Speak, Admiral.

HUX: Supreme Leader, I have a report update.

KYLO: Go on.

HUX: The farmers on Ryloth no longer trouble us, as you requested. The 502nd has also been disbanded. We have heard word of a rebel cell on Kamino, though it appears they are small in number.

KYLO: Excellent. Send an execution squadron to Kamino. What else?

HUX: We received word from a scout trooper on Jakku. He reports seeing a sizable resistance base. Might be their main one. General Leia Organa is among them. 

[Vicrul stops floating the scythe, and grabs it with his hand.]

KYLO: Send the trooper a hefty bonus in his next credit deposit as a thank you.

HUX: I don’t believe that will be necessary, sir.

KYLO: Snoke may have treated them badly, but under my rule every trooper is valued. You should understand this by now, Admiral.

HUX: I beg your pardon, Supreme Leader, I meant no disrespect. I should have been clearer. It appears the scout trooper was terminated. His armor is no longer transmitting life readings.

KYLO: That is unfortunate.

HUX: Shall we mobilize on the Resistance base, sir?

[Kylo pauses to think before answering. We see a brief flash of him and Leia when he was a child. Han carrying Ben on his shoulders. The three of them laughing.]

KYLO: Not yet. I will deal with them in my own time.

[Vicrul eyes Kylo, noting the remaining sliver of love for Leia in his voice.]

HUX: Very well sir.

KYLO: You are dismissed.

HUX: The First Order Reigns.

KYLO: The First Order Reigns.

——————————————————————

**Scene 19: Doubts**

The Resistance Star Destroyer base. Hallway to the control room. Rey is confronting Poe.

REY: I used to admire you. Now look at yourself.

POE: Did I go too far? Maybe. But don’t tell me they would have treated one of us better.

REY: I was Kylo’s prisoner, so were you, and we’re both still breathing.

POE: That’s not the same thing and you know it. Us not talking wasn’t threatening Kylo. He was holding out intel that could have endangered us.

REY: And killing him was the only option?

POE: He was a stormtrooper. They are the enemy.

REY: He was a human. 

POE: You don’t understand.

REY: Yes I do. I understand that the best way to judge a man is to see how he treats those he despises!

POE: You think being some fancy Jedi, spouting meaningless philosophy makes you better than me?

REY: No, I think not murdering a man in cold blood does.

[FINN walks down the hallway to them. They both notice him and fall quiet.]

FINN: Hi guys. Am I interrupting something?

POE: No. I was just leaving.

REY: Good.

POE: Fine.

REY: Fine.

[Poe curses under his breath and storms away.]

FINN (calling after Poe): I wanted to tell you —

POE (shouting back): Another time.

FINN: What’s the matter?

REY: Nothing. Just a minor disagreement.

FINN: What about?

REY: Exactly to how much of a self centered, egotistical asshole he is.

[Finn raises his eyebrows and mouths the word “okay”.]

REY: You had something you wanted to tell us?

FINN: Yes. I talked with Amrath. About what happened to his people.

REY: What did you find out?

FINN: It sounds like they were… eaten.

REY: Eaten? I saw the bodies.

FINN: Sorry, that’s not what I mean. Their force connection, all of them, he says it was like their souls were sucked out of their bodies.

REY: Did he say what caused it?

FINN: Who, and yes. You’re not going to like it.

REY: Just tell me. After today, nothing will surprise me.

[She glares off in the direction Poe left.]

FINN: It was Kylo Ren.

REY: Of course it was. Why wouldn’t it be? 

FINN: I know you still think he has good in him, but — 

REY: I don’t think anything. 

FINN: Okay. Well. I was hoping maybe you had a plan for how to deal with him or something.

REY: I don’t know. Kind of playing it by ear. But if he’s that powerful, maybe we should just surrender.

FINN: What?

REY: Have you ever thought what if we stop fighting?

FINN: What do you mean?

REY: What if the First Order can’t be stopped. There’s less than a hundred of us spread across the galaxy. They have thousands. 

FINN: By my last count there were two million stormtroopers. Give or take.

REY: Exactly.

[Finn eyes her with suspicion.]

FINN: What’s your point?

REY: What if we just give up? There’s only a war because we keep fighting and they keep retaliating.

FINN: Don’t talk like that. You’re starting to sound like them.

REY: And what’s wrong with that?

FINN: What’s wrong, Rey, is the fact that I never knew my parents. They sold me. Maybe I was kidnapped. I don’t know. I’m not like Poe, I don’t have a home to miss. I don’t have a family. They brainwashed me. Raised me to kill. And when I couldn’t do that they branded me a traitor. Don’t talk like a stormtrooper when you don’t know what it’s like to be one.

REY: But we’re on the losing side. People will die. Maybe we’ll find some way to blow them up or kill them, but how many people have to die? How many of us would survive?

FINN: I don’t know what got into your head. Maybe you’ve forgotten the difference between right and wrong. I respect you, Rey. I do. But maybe you need to go meditate or something, you aren’t thinking straight.

[A sad look comes across Rey’s face.]

REY: Maybe.

[A red alarm flicks on then off above them. They hear footsteps approaching them fast. Rey and Finn look to see it is Lt. Connix is rushing toward them. A look of panic on her face.]

REY: What is it?

CONNIX: Half a click out from the docking bay. Raiders. Maybe a dozen. Heavily armed. They’re coming.

[The PA system crackles on and Leia’s voice is heard.]

LEIA: Everyone to your battle stations immediately. Rey, we could use your talents.

FINN: Let’s go.

[Connix and Rey nod in agreement and they head off to defend the ship.]

—————————————————————

**Scene 20: Schemes**

First Order Consulate Complex, Admiral’s offices. The door is open just a crack. Admiral Hux is speaking with a General, he is an older gentleman with a severe-looking face, as sharp and as worn as a seaside cliff. It is clear he has seen more than his share of conflict. This is General Blackstone.

BLACKSTONE: I don’t understand. We should be moving on the resistance base immediately. Send the troopers!

HUX: The Supreme Leader has commanded that we hold. They will be dealt with in time.

BLACKSTONE: There was a time when you were commanding these forces and Kylo was merely Snoke’s force-sensitive watchdog. Have you gone weak, Hux?

[In the crack of the door we see the black and gold armored CLA1337 walk passed the office. She overhears the conversation and stops to listen.]

HUX: We do as the Supreme Leader commands.

BLACKSTONE: When I worked for the Empire, we did not hesitate to strike our enemies.

HUX: The Empire was misguided by a power hungry wizard and it cost them dearly.

BLACKSTONE: And we are not?

HUX: Oh, we are. That’s my point. I’ve put up with Kylo’s tirades and entertained his sympathies long enough.

BLACKSTONE: What do you mean?

HUX:The man is an overgrown child. His temper may have settled in his years as Supreme Leader, but he wavers. He’s a disgrace to the title.

[Beneath her helmet CLA1337 furrows her brow in disgust.]

BLACKSTONE: So you have a plan?

HUX: It is already in motion. I made a new friend who shares common goals. Soon the resistance will be taken care of, but we will not be to blame by sending our troopers to do the work. The Supreme Leader will either embrace the change or he will be ousted, either way, we will prosper.

[CLA1337 leans closer into the door to hear better. The door creaks.]

HUX: What was that sound?

[CLA1337 leaves before she can be found out].

BLACKSTONE: I heard it too.

[BLACKSTONE goes to investigate at the door frame. He sees nothing and sits back down.]

BLACKSTONE: Must be some rats in the floor. 

HUX: Must be.

BLACKSTONE: So tell me… who is this friend of yours?

[Admiral Hux smiles.]

———————————————————————

.....continued in Chapter 2


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 of my alternate Star Wars Episode 9 script. - not_rian_johnson

**Scene 21: Raiders!**

Jakku, Star Destroyer Base of the Resistance. The sun is hanging low on the horizon. The sky is nearly black save for the sun’s fading dull red glow. A harsh wind is howling, bits of debris and trash bang against the derelict ship. A sudden, enormous sandstorm has engulfed the area. Rey, Finn, Poe, Leia, Rose, Connix, Aftab, and roughly two dozen other pilots look out the open docking bay doors to see the silhouettes of the advancing raider party. 

POE: Everyone to the X-wings, go, go. Go!

LEIA: Have you looked outside? Taking off in this storm would be suicide.

POE: We have to do something, general.

LEIA: Close, the bay doors! We can’t fight them in the storm, but we can wait it out.

[CONNIX flips the switch for the large steel doors, but nothing happens.]

LEIA: Connix? What’s the hold up?

CONNIX: I don’t know, general. The ship isn’t responding.

[Amrath speaks in Sith. C3PO Translates]

C3PO: Are we gonna die?

[They are holding hands.]

FINN: No, we’ll be fine. Buddy

AFTAB: Don’t listen to the trooper, kid. Trust your instincts. We’re all as good as dead. 

LEIA: Rose, can you get an eye on this? 

ROSE: Yes, General.

[Rose goes over to the control pad to investigate.]

LEIA: Poe, take the gunners and pilots form a perimeter and see if you can hold them off. 

REY: I can help take them out, General.

[Rey reaches for her saber.]

[Amrath hides behind Finn.]

LEIA: I want you here. The Raiders can see much better than we can in this storm. If they snuck around you and got in, we’d be toast.

REY: Okay. 

POE (to Rey): We’ll head in, shoot those sandscum, and be back shortly.

[Rey doesn’t respond to Poe, still fuming over his treatment of the trooper.]

LEIA: Finn, you stay here with the child. Protect him.

FINN: Yes Ma’am.

[Rose slaps the metal of the console out of frustration.]

ROSE: Dammit.

LEIA: What is it?

ROSE: Looks like it’s a hardware issue, everything in the code looks fine.

LEIA: What’s that mean?

ROSE: Maybe a wire is frayed somewhere, or a fuse is blown. A ship this big and all the interconnected circuits... could take hours to pinpoint the issue.

[Leia nods grimly.]

LEIA: Rose, get into the belly of the ship, see if you can find out the problem. Pilots and gunners, head out. The rest of you hunker down.

[Rose heads out of the command room and down a service hallway to the left.]

[Poe, Aftab, and a handful of others grab their blasters and head down the still open docking bay ramp. They position themselves in a semicircle about 50 feet out from the docking bay, protecting it from all angles.]

[We see the silhouettes grow larger and closer. They are difficult to make out against the harsh sandy winds, but as they advance, it becomes clear there are more than initially anticipated. Not the twelve that Connix saw, but in fact a whole raiding party. Likely thirty or forty in total. Poe and Aftab look at each other in fear.]

[A shot from the raiders. A bright green bolt of energy drives into Aftab’s chest and he falls to the ground with a heavy thud.]

POE: No!

[But Aftab is already gone, the life instantly faded from his eyes.]

[Poe fires his blaster’s red bolt into the advancing throng, but the sand makes aiming near impossible.]

[Red and green lasers volley back and forth. Some Raiders are hit but lucky stray shots, but one by one all the Resistance shooters are hit and killed until only Poe is left. He makes a run for the docking bay, but green bolts hit the ground in front of him. Poe dodges out of the line of fire just in time, but slips on the sandy metal and falls off of the ramp, landing on the ground below. While the fall was unintended, at least he knows he should be safe with the ramp as his cover, at least for a minute or so while they press in on the base. 

Poe closes his eyes for a moment to gather himself. He thinks about all the things that led them here. Training up to be a pilot since he was a child, Finn rescuing him from the First Order, the crazy stunts he pulled in his x wing with the help of BB-8, taking out the dreadnaught, and now here he was… the best pilot in the resistance, grounded due to a sandstorm and about to be killed, not even by First Order troopers, but by a group of ravenous sand beasts.]

[There is a roar. Poe opens his eyes again. Then a yelp of pain. Then another. Poe leans his head out from under the ramp to look out at the raiders. The storm has worsened, but peering into it he sees movement, a struggle. There is a humming, a whirr of steel. Through the sand he is able to make out the forms of raiders falling. He hears their bestial screams. The Raiders are struggling amongst themselves…. no, they are fighting someone else. Multiple someones.]

[The camera cuts away.]

———————————————————————

**Scene 22: Vicrul’s Plan**

[A swipe transition comes across the screen. We are in the Knife - 9. The Knights of Ren are having a discussion.]

CARDO: His mother?

VICRUL: I had heard a rumor that she’s the leader of the Resistance. Appears to be true.

TRUDGEN: The Resistance should be squashed by now. You think he’s letting them survive out of sympathy?

AP’LEK: Why does the lion allow the lamb to live?

KURUK: Should we really disobey our Ren? What are we if we do not have loyalty?

USHAR: I saw that Hux man approach Vicrul, we are loyal to strength, not the First Order.

VICRUL: To hell with the First Order. Strength has always been our law, but no true Ren knowingly keeps their weakness alive. 

[The knights murmur their agreement.]

[VICRUL extends his closed fist into the center of the circle and looks to Ap’Lek. After a moment he does the same to show his support for the plan. One by one each of the knights follow suit.]

—————————————————————————————

**Scene 23: Docking Bay Battle**

[Jakku, the sandstorm. The Knights of Ren are laying waste to the raiders. Trudgen and Kuruk cut through the sandmen like hot blades through butter. One raider shoots at Vicrul, but he deflects the blast with a force pulse and the bolt of green energy is shot back at the raider, killing him on impact.]

[Ap’Lek Stretches out his hand and bright jolts of lightning sizzle from his fingertips into the bodies of five unlucky raiders. Having tapped into the force with Kylo’s training, the knights dance and weave through the raiders, cutting down all of them in a matter of minutes until only the knights remain.]

[Poe rushes back up the ramp and into the docking bay.]

LEIA: What’s going on out there?

POE: The… I… I don’t know. The raiders came… but then there was someone else. Jedi maybe? Friends of yours, Rey?

[Rey closes her eyes to concentrate, then opens them when she finds what she is looking for.]

REY: No. Not friends. It’s the Knights of Ren.

[But before they can discuss things further, they hear footsteps fast approaching, the knights are on the ramp and are entering the docking bay.]

[Vicrul leaps toward Leia. Rey ignites her saber and blocks his scythe blade.]

[Cardo attacks, his arm flamethrower roaring to life as a blaze of fire encroaches upon Rey. She twirls out of the way and uses the force to shield herself from the flame.]

[Kuruk fires a shot at Amrath. Finn lifts him up just in time and runs off into the heart of the star destroyer. Kuruk readies his rifles to aim another shot, but a red light flashes across the screen and he falls. We see that Connix is holding a blaster, leveled at where Kuruk was standing.]

[Trudgen brings his heavy sword down toward Rey, she parries and blocks Vicrul’s advancing strikes. Ap’Lek Lets loose a bolt of force lightning that electrocutes Connix. She cries in pain and falls to the ground.]

POE: Run, General!

[LEIA shakes her head. She shoots her own blaster and Kuruk crumples to the ground in a heap.]

LEIA: I can handle myself. 

———————————————————————————

**Scene 24: The Spark Goes Out**

Coruscant, Supreme Leader’s Private quarters. Trophy room. 

[Kylo Ren is unlocking the crate from Malachor. He lifts the lid and reaches in to pull out Darth Nihilus’ ancient mask. He holds it up to the light. Due to the airtight insulation and the protective cushioning, the mask bears no signs of the passing millenia.]

[Kylo feels the dark pulse of the mask, the rumored power inherent to it. He hears whispers, voices emanating from the relic.]

[There is a knock at his door. Kylo puts the mask back into the crate and seals the lid.]

[He goes to his chamber door and opens it. It is CLA1337. Kylo is pleased to see the shadowtrooper.]

KYLO: CLA1337. What a pleasant surprise.

CLA1337: Greetings, Supreme Leader. I apologize for the intrusion.

KYLO: It’s no bother at all, come in.

[They enter his chamber and the door shuts behind her.]

KYLO: I was just admiring the artifact you retrieved for me. You and your men continue to deliver. You are the pride of the First Order.

CLA1337: Thank you, Supreme Leader.

KYLO: I am continually impressed by your services, you do not pry into my personal matters and do not ask questions. That is more than I can say for many of the generals and admirals I surround myself with.

CLA1337: My business is to serve, Supreme Leader. An efficient empire depends on the roles of its citizens, it is not the role of a cog to ask the purpose of the machine.

KYLO: You’re never curious?

[She hesitates with the answer.]

CLA13337: Sir… I was not curious as to the ways of the Jedi and Sith until you armed me with the darksaber. Taught me its history, the stories of the dead. I will never question your orders. We shall preserve The First Order, it will not go the way of the Empire or Mandalore, lost to dust. I live to serve. But there are some things I do not understand.

KYLO: Do you want to know about the mask?

CLA1337: I’m not sure. Some of my men have doubts in the First Order. I watch the Knights of Ren and see their greed. I see Hux scheming. It all troubles me. I suspect curiosity drives such vices. I do not wish to be inefficient.

KYLO: It is natural for your men to doubt, so long as it does not interfere with their duties. The Knights of Ren are harmless. What are Hux’s schemes you speak of? 

CLA1337: I do not know. He spoke about how you are an overgrown child. He says the Resistance will be taken care of shortly. I believe he hired outside assistance. 

[The camera swipes back to the Resistance base.]

[Ushar attacks Leia, club raised, but Rey force pushes him back and into the wall. She positions herself between the knights and Leia.]

[Cardo’s flamethrower scorches the metal ground around Rey. She twirls out of its path, keeping between him and Leia. Ap’Lek shoots a jolt of lighting toward her. Rey absorbs it with her saber. He keeps his arm steady, channelling the lightning, keeping her trapped in place. Trudgen slams a heavy blow down on Poe, he moves but not quite enough and the blade crushes his leg. Poe screams out in anguish.] 

[Cardo levels his flamethrower aiming it at Leia. Leia fires a shot at him from her blaster, but Vicrul deflects it away, saving his friend. Ushar attacks Leia, his club raised high over her head. She fires a shot at him as well, this one hits him in the chest, he keels over dead.]

[Leia smiles to see her shot hit its mark. She feels young and free again. She is reminded of her princess days, adventuring with Luke and Han. That spark of rebellion. There is a glimmer of life and youth in her eyes. She turns to fire at Cardo, but as she does, a whooshing swipe of motion comes across the screen.] 

[Vircul’s scythe blade finds its target. Its hilt embedding itself deep in Leia’s chest. She lets out a cry of pain and falls over. Rey looks and lets out a cry of anguish. Poe’s mouth is agape. The former Princess of Alderaan lay dead at their feet.]

[In a flash we return to Kylo and CLA1337. Kylo’s eyes widen in shock and he falls to the floor.]

[He struggles to breathe.]

[CLA1337 reaches out for him.]

[Kylo blinks. Realizing what has happened.]

[CLA1337 sees tears beginning to form in his eyes.]

[Kylo’s lips quiver. When he speaks, his voice is vulnerable and broken.]

KYLO: ...Mom?

[CLA1337 offers her hand to help Kylo up. It hurts her heart to see the Supreme leader so fragile.] 

[Kylo gets up, he locks eyes with CLA1337. She sees that the softness and scared child gone from his eyes. In its place is something dark and angry.]

—————————————————————

**Scene 25: The Dark Side**

Jakku. Star destroyer base. Everything seems slowed down. There is no sound. Leia’s lifeless body crumpled on the floor. Rey looks from the general to the knights and back the Leia. Soft sad piano keys are heard as a minor key version of the princess’s theme starts in. Cardo, Trudgen, Ap’Lek, and Vicrul brandish their weapons menacingly.

[Rey’s anger boils over as she swipes her lightsaber toward Ap’Lek, blocks it with his Mandalorian Axe. Poe shoots his blaster wildly, but Vicrul deflects all his bolts.]

[Poe and Rey combat the four remaining knights, but they are outmatched.]

[Swipe cut to Finn, Amrath, and C-3PO. They are hiding in one of the dormitories, the door barred shut with a dresser, a few chairs, an end table, and a few pillows for good measure. Finn is sweating, having recently moved the furniture in the way of the door.]

FINN: There…. that should keep them out.

[Amrath is talking in Sith, C-3PO is translating.]

C-3PO: Master Amrath would like to know, who are they? What do they want?

FINN: Bad people, and they want to hurt us, but they won’t.

C-3PO: How can you be sure?

FINN: Because we have each other. 

[Finn stoops down to look into his eyes.]

FINN: Look at me, kiddo. No matter what happens, no matter who comes, I promise I will always do everything I can to keep you safe. I’ll never lie to you or leave you behind, you understand?

[Amrath speaks, C-3PO translates.]

C-3PO: Like a family. Are we a family now?

[Finn looks from Amrath to C-3PO then back to Amrath.]

FINN: Yeah, buddy. We’re family.

C-3PO: My last family was eaten by a human, maybe this one will have more luck.

FINN: I hope so…. Can I tell you something, Amrath?

C-3PO: What is it?

[Finn sits on the floor and takes Amrath’s hands. C-3PO sits on a nearby cot.

FINN: I… I’ve never had a family before. Not that I can remember anyway. And the people out there defending us, they are sort of the closest thing I’ve got. But I’m happy to count you in that too. Together we can do anything.

C-3PO: Together. Always.

[Amrath throws his arms around Finn in a big hug.]

[The camera swipes back to Rey and Poe. Some time has passed. Rey has more singes on her robes and Poe is limping.]

[Rey lunges at Vicrul violently, the rage and hatred afire in her eyes, Vicrul jumps back and Ap’Lek swings his axe, knocking her to the ground. She struggles to get back up. She tears paneling and bolts of the walls with the force and hurls them at Vicrul. He deflects them away with his own power.]

VICRUL: You have so much anger in you. So much fear.

REY: You know nothing about me.

VICRUL: Ah, but I do. I see the same hesitation, the same resentment in you that we all have. 

REY: YOU KILLED MY FRIEND! OF COURSE I’M ANGRY.

VICRUL: That’s not very Jedi-like of you.

REY: You know nothing of the Jedi.

VICRUL: I know what they are not, because I know what I am. You know it too. We are the same.

REY: I’m nothing like you.

VICRUL: Aren’t you? Then you must have been loved and cared for as a child. You don’t resent anyone for abandoning you. You’ve never questioned your place.

REY: How…

VICRUL: How do I know your story? Maybe it’s all of our stories. That’s who we are, Rey from nowhere. You would make a wonderful Knight of Ren.

POE: Don’t listen to him!

[Vicrul puts his scythe blade away behind his back and extends a hand.]

VICRUL: Join us we can seek power together.

REY: You sound like….

VICRUL: Like who? Like another dark side user you know? A mutual friend of ours perhaps? Maybe that’s just the dark within you, speaking through both of us because you know it to be true. Rey. Join us. I can teach you the dark side.

[A voice breaks in from off screen.]

KYLO: No you can’t.

REY: Kylo?

VIRCUL: My friend! What a pleasure to see you here. We’ve done you a favor, do you see?

KYLO: I’ll tell you what I see.

[Kylo ignites his saber, its blood red light crackles and laughs.]

KYLO: I see four boys who stumbled into their father’s private armory and are playing with weapons they can’t possibly comprehend. You think you can turn her? You don’t know Rey. 

VICRUL: The dark side is….

KYLO: You think because you cast a shadow you understand the night? You want the dark side? I’ll show you the dark side.

[Kylo stretches a hand out. Vicrul, Cardo, Ap’Lek, and Trudgen all freeze in place then are lifted up into the air. Kylo closes his eyes for a few beats. We hear indistinguishable yelling and pained moans. Streaks of light flash across the screen. The Knights’ bodies begin to tremble then contort. They scream out ungodly cries of anguish.]

VICRUL: What… is this…..?

KYLO: A perfect uncle, savior to the galaxy. A grandfather, scourge of all that is good. A mother, more interested in helping the new republic than playing with her son. This? This is stabbing your own father in the stomach. Hoping it would bring you peace. Free you from pain. But nothing. Ever. Does!

[Kylo turns his hand and the Knights flip over in place, hanging upside down, the blood rushing to their heads. Their helmets fall to the steel floor with cold thuds. We see the terror and the tears streaking their faces.]

VICRUL: Please………. have mercy.

[Kylo twirls his fingers so they approach him one by one, rotating toward him in a circle.] 

KYLO: Mercy? Mercy is for Jedi.

[Kylo strikes with his saber. Not once or twice. His arm is a flurry of motion, hacking and slashing into the floating bodies of the Knights of Ren over and over and over again. Kylo stands in place as one by one their dangling bodies approach him for the slaughter.]

[When he is finished, all four are nothing more than rags of torn flesh hanging from flayed bone. Two of them are decapitated. Which two it is impossible to tell. He lets their bodies slump to the ground below.]

[Rey and Poe look on in horror at the carnage wrought by Kylo.]

[Kylo falls to his knees at Leia’s feet and turns off his saber.]

[Poe raises his blaster to aim it at the vulnerable Supreme Leader of the First Order, his finger on the trigger. Rey puts a hand on the gun and looks at Poe sadly.]

POE (quietly): But….

REY: Don’t.

[Kylo begins to weep.] 

POE: You should leave.

KYLO: No.

POE: It’s all I can do to not kill you right here. Leave. We have to have a memorial, bury her.

KYLO: I don’t care.

POE: No one in this base wants you here. It’s best you go.

[Kylo reaches out with his mind, Poe’s neck constricts. He snaps a hand to his throat but it does no good.]

KYLO (calmly): She’s my mother. I’m staying. I’ll slaughter anyone who tries to tell me differently. Understood?

[Poe nods between his labored breaths.]

KYLO: Good.

[He releases Poe. Poe casts a concerned look toward Rey. She just shakes her head.]

[Poe looks from Rey to Leia and his face changes. He and Rey kneel near the fallen princess.]

———————————————————————————————

**Scene 26: Kylo Shunned**

[The camera cuts to Finn, C-3PO, and Amrath leaving the dormitory. The lights should be dim to show that some time has passed. They walk through the hall and toward the docking bay.]

C-3PO: I have never understood the violence of humans, master Finn. If I were to have a dispute with another droid, we would settle it by determining who speaks the most languages. That droid would most assuredly be the more intellectual one.

FINN: Uh huh.

C-3PO: One time, R2 and I got into quite the squabble on a planet much like this one, we had been captured by jawas you see…

FINN: 3-PO, can you do me a favor?

C-3PO: Of course, master Finn. What is it?

FINN: Make translating for Amrath your primary directive for the time being. Until I figure out what’s been going on here at least.

C-3PO: Certainly sir.

FINN: Thanks.

[They continue walking and come upon the docking bay.]

C-3PO (quietly): It was a good story. 

[Finn sees the destroyed room, the scorch marks and debris, the bodies of Connix and Leia. Rey is wrapping a blanket around Leia.]

FINN: Oh no.

POE: Finn, buddy. I’m glad to see you’re okay.

FINN: Did….

[Footsteps approach up the ramp, Kylo enters the bay. He had been outside disposing of the bodies of the knights of Ren.]

[Amrath shrieks upon seeing Kylo.]

[Finn turns and sees Kylo. He grabs his blaster.]

FINN: YOU! DID YOU DO THIS?

[Rey stands.]

REY: No. Kylo helped, he saved us from the Knights.

FINN (eyeing Kylo suspiciously): Saved?

KYLO: Trust me, I’m starting to wish I hadn’t.

FINN: How do we know he didn't send them to begin with then kill them to gain our trust?

KYLO: Big words from a traitor.

FINN: So high and mighty of you, Supreme Leader.

[Finn spits on the ground in disrespect.] 

REY: Enough, both of you. You can kill each other later. We have to make preparations.

[Amrath speaks in Sith. His inflections are scared and angry.]

C-3PO: Master Amrath says that this is the man that killed his family. Who ate his friends.

[Kylo looks at the Sith boy.]

KYLO: Malachor…

FINN: Why are you here? Can’t you see you’re distressing the child? You aren’t welcome here!

KYLO: Fine.

[He turns and leaves the way he came.]

[Rey goes to follow him.]

FINN: Let him leave. He knows what he is.

POE: If you go after him, you’re dishonoring Leia, what she stood for.

[Rey looks upset but does not follow Kylo.]

[The camera follows Kylo into the frigid Jakku night. The winds have died down and the sands lay still. We see him pass four unmarked mounds of Earth, where lay the knights of Ren. He returns to his ship and enters. Its interior is black and white with red accents. ]

[He stands for a moment, looking back at the star destroyer, then he ignites his saber and strikes at the cushioning and the decorative panels of his ship, howling in anguish. He strikes and strikes at the upholstery, this tantrum more precise and driven than those he had in Episode VII.]

[He steps backward and looks at the scene, the torn seats, the burned wall. Turns off his saber and drops it with a clunk. Kylo collapses to his knees. He is weeping silently. Trembling. He cries, wailing without words.]

[His commlink buzzes an incoming call. Kylo wipes the tears from his face and turns it on. The voice of Admiral Hux comes over the line.]

HUX: Supreme Leader.

KYLO: What?

HUX: Sir, where are you?

KYLO: Private business, can I help you with something?

HUX: There is some unrest here, a few of the troopers were caught wi — 

KYLO: I don't care.

HUX: Pardon?

[Just then we hear a knock at the open door of Kylo's ship. Rey is standing there.]

REY: Ben? I'm sorry about all that in there. Can we talk?

[Kylo looks back to see her.]

KYLO: I'm going to have to call you back, Admiral.

HUX: But sir — 

[The call is disconnected.]

————————————————————

**Scene 27: Negotiations**

First Order Consulate Complex, Coruscant. Admiral Hux’s chambers.

[Hux is cut off mid-sentence by Kylo hanging up on him. Hux stands there, dumbstruck. The Supreme Leader has always been arrogant and self serving, but never so blatant and rude as to hang up mid-call! Hux ruffles his scrawny face in displeasure. We see that General Blackstone is there with him, both men look perturbed.]

BLACKSTONE: What did he say?

HUX: He was indisposed. Had a guest by the sounds of it.

BLACKSTONE: A guest?

HUX: The Jedi girl. She called him Ben.

BLACKSTONE: That’s very familiar. You don’t think... 

HUX: — I’ve always seen a tender spot for her in him, though to think that they could be involved….

BLACKSTONE: He could very well be telling her state secrets.

HUX: It would be appaling.

BLACKSTONE: Not to mention treasonous.

HUX: We must retrieve him before the First Order is compromised.

BLACKSTONE: If it hasn’t been already. Any word from the knights?

HUX: None. 

BLACKSTONE: Shall I send the 501st legion?

HUX: No, we need to be discreet. A small task unit, one that the Supreme Leader would not retaliate against if he does not appreciate their presence.

BLACKSTONE: You don’t mean… his Elite Task Force?

HUX: They’re the only troopers who may be able to sway him to return. He has a fondness for CLA1337 and her men.

BLACKSTONE: Do you think it wise? I’ve heard rumors that there are rebel sympathizers among her ranks.

HUX: If we don’t want to lose troops, we have no other option. He wouldn’t harm them.

BLACKSTONE: ... okay. Call them in.

[The camera cuts back to Rey and Kylo. She stands at the entry to his ship.]

REY: May I come in?

KYLO: Yes. 

[Rey enters, she sees the chairs that are torn up courtesy of his outburst and pauses.]

REY: What’s uh… what happened here?

[Kylo glances at the slashed up furniture.]

KYLO: Chewie did it.

REY: Chewie?

KYLO: That’s what I said.

REY: You mean the wookie that’s holed up in the medical bay getting a prosthetic leg right now due to a run in with your shadowtroopers, that Chewie?

[Kylo hesitates.]

KYLO: Yes. He’s very talented.

REY: Sure. And why did he feel it necessary to do such a thing?

[Kylo looks down and sighs.]

KYLO: I… 

[He sits on another seat across from her.]

KYLO: Do you remember on Achto? When we touched hands?

REY: I do.

KYLO: You were scared and hurting.

[Rey nods.]

KYLO: I don’t have the same self control you do. 

[Then he lets out a short bitter laugh.]

KYLO: I’ve always had anger issues. When I was a kid I blamed Chewie for my tantrums.

REY: He does always have a mischievous look about him.

KYLO: Want to know something embarrassing?

[Rey nods.]

KYLO: I never learned to understand wookie.

REY: Really? Didn’t you grow up with him always around? I imagine him and Han connected at the hip.

KYLO: Oh yeah. Until I was 3 I thought he was my dad.

[She laughs and lets out a tiny snort as she does so.]

[Kylo smiles for the first time in the trilogy.]

REY: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile.

[In that moment he straightens his face, the joy disappearing.]

KYLO: Don’t get used to it.

REY: I like your smile.

KYLO: Yeah… My mother always used to say that.

[He looks at Rey sadly.]

REY: I’m sorry.

KYLO: It’s okay. I should have killed her years ago. I had her ship in my crosshairs.

REY: Why didn’t you?

KYLO: I… 

[Kylo struggles to find the words. He does not want to admit out loud that he clinged to her because she was the last shred of light in his world. She made him weak, but killing her would have left him with no one. He doesn’t want anyone to know he has always been afraid of giving himself fully over to the dark side, even though in his mind there is nothing he wanted more.]

KYLO: … I don’t know.

[The camera cuts back to Admiral Hux’s chambers. The Elite Task Force is there.]

HUX: The Supreme Leader is on Jakku. Your mission is to retrieve him and bring him back here. 

[The ETF looks to one another.]

CLA1337: Sir, I have a question.

HUX: Go ahead.

CLA1337: Why are you ordering us to go, why not some other troopers?

HUX: I am not sure of his state of mind. It is likely he will come peacefully, and you have a good rapport with him. Sending you lowers the chances that he may retaliate.

CLA1337: Retaliate?

HUX: It is believed he may be conspiring with the resistance and the Jedi known as Rey.

SRO14: You think we are expendable.

HUX: Quite the contrary. I want to minimize violence. You are his friends. He’ll listen to you.

ENK839: Why is he on Jakku?

HUX: That is classified information.

FA48: Classified is all we do.

HUX: That information is privileged. Rest assured you will be rewarded upon your return.

CLA1337: Reward?

HUX: Yes. For your services.

[The task force looks at each other then back to Hux.]

ENK839: We will not be going.

HUX: What? You dare to undermine me?

CLA1337: All due respect, Admiral, but we do not serve you. We serve the office of the Supreme Leader.

HUX: This is serving the Supreme Leader, saving him from himself.

ENK839: Doesn’t sound like it to me.

HUX: You’re the one, aren’t you?!

ENK839: Me what?

HUX: You’re the sympathizer. I heard about you. You doubt the First Order. 

CLA1337 (interjecting): ENK’s loyalties are not in question. We simply serve the Supreme Leader, sir. We are not yours to command.

HUX: Supreme Leader, huh? We’ll see about that.

[A dark expression crosses Hux’s face.]

HUX: You are all dismissed... for now.

——————————————————————

**Scene 28: Funeral**

Resistance Star Destroyer base, exterior. A few hours after dark. A set of torches for a walkway in the sand leading up to a pile of sticks and papers fanning around a wooden casket; Leia’s funeral pyre. 

[Poe is standing in front of the pyre. He is wearing the Leia’s Resistance General stripes and a forlorn expression as he addresses Finn, Amrath, C-3PO and the dozen or so remaining members of the resistance.]

[Kylo is sitting on the opposite side of the pyre away from the crowd, watching form what Poe called an “appropriate distance.”]

POE: Here we say goodbye to our beloved General Leia Organa. A mother, a friend, a wife, and the once Princess of Alderaan. But more than any other those titles, she was a symbol. If it wasn’t for her, the rebellion never would have had the plans to the Death Star. Because of her the Empire fell to a ragtag group of rebels. Because of her, a small boy on Yavin 4 was inspired to do something better than run spice with the local lowlife crew. Because of her I vowed to improve things for the good of the people I loved. For the farmers with their dry lands. For my little sister Luna, for the galaxy. Because of Leia, I joined the Resistance.

[R2-D2 lets out a sad series of beeps.]

POE: She was a spark, a light in the darkness. In her youth she fought every day against the tyranny of the Empire, she killed the gangster Jabba the Hutt, but when the war was over, the fight was far from. She would go on to pen countless resolutions empowering the disenfranchised in the New Republic’s senate halls all while her name was slandered by political opponents for being the daughter of Darth Vader.

[Chewie lets out a pained howl. A light and slow piano motif starts in.]

POE: She went on to defend us, even in her twilight years. When the ruthless First Order rose to take the Empire’s place, Leia took up the fight again. A senator working privately to fund and lead a so-called terrorist organization, against the wishes of the New Republic. 

[Poe lifts one of the torches off the ground to hold it as he continues.]

POE: She staked her reputation and good name on the line, not because it was easy, but because it was the right thing to do. She taught me the importance of leadership, of foresight, that not all problems can be solved by hopping in an X-wing and blowing something up. The legends may be written about her more famous twin brother, but we are living witness to her light. Her wisdom. Sleep sweet, dear Princess. And may her force be with us, always.

[Poe touches the torch to the pyre and the flames catch instantly, dancing around her casket. Cellos join the piano keys. Poe goes and sits down next to Finn. They hold hands.]

[The flames rise and the music swells, the piano and cello interweaving together in a sad but sweet melody.]

[There will be thirty seconds to a minute of no sounds but music as each member of the resistance approaches the pyre to pay their respects and as one by one they each leave. When the flames roar low and the music settles, we see that the crowd has all dispersed. The only one who remains is Kylo, he has not moved all this time. Still watching his mother’s body burning from afar. All alone.]

————————————————————

**Scene 29: Announcement**

CLA1337’s private quarters on Coruscant. Her apartment is nice, but not lavish. The furniture is a cool green with splashes of gold and blue. She is dressed in civilian clothing. There is a knock at her door. She answers it. We see ENK839 also dressed in his casual attire. Here in the bright light of her quarters we now see that his eyes are a brilliant emerald color.

CLA1337: Welcome! Come in, come in.

ENK839: Thank you, Captain.

[ENK839 enters her apartment and sits on the bench.]

CLA1337: Can I get you anything? Lagacius Extract? Imported Ton Ton Milk? 

ENK839: I’m alright, thanks.

[CLA1337 takes a seat across from him.]

ENK839: What do you think of the Admiral’s orders?

CLA1337: He’s jealous of the Supreme Leader, feels threatened. 

ENK839: Jealous?

CLA1337: Oh yes. I’ve been watching him for years, ever since I served under Phasma. He’s always been jealous of Kylo’s force prowess. Of his station.

ENK839: Do you think we should be concerned?

CLA1337: The Supreme Leader can take care of himself. I’d be more worried about you.

[ENK839 shifts uncomfortably.]

ENK839: Me?

CLA1337: You have to be more careful. FA48 is shipping goods to her family on Canto Bight, but she’s discreet about it. You can’t keep your mouth shut at the bar, you’ll get us all into trouble and not every one of us shares the soft spot for the Resistance you have.

ENK839: It isn’t the Resistance, necessarily.

CLA1337: What is it then?

ENK839: I want to do good in the world. Like FN2187. 

CLA1337: I get that.

ENK839: You do?

CLA1337: Of course. We all want to be important. But the best heroes don’t know they are ones. You have the strongest moral compass of all of us. 

ENK839: Thanks, I guess.

CLA1337: Just be cautious of the company you keep.

[ENK839 shifts uncomfortably.]

ENK839: I don’t know what you mean.

CLA1337: Yes, you do. 

[She taps her holodeck and a video plays of ENK839 in a seedy underground basement among other out of uniform stormtroopers. They are chanting “Rebel Scum, Rebel Scum!” Finn’s words to Phasma now serving as the rallying cry for disenchanted troopers.]

[ENK sulks into his seat.]

ENK839: Are you going to turn me in?

CLA1337: No, of course not. 

ENK839: Why? 

CLA1337: Because you serve the First Order well. Whatever your sympathies, they do not hinder your performance. You keep casualties low, you always have a cool head under pressure, and no one is as good of a hunter as you are.

ENK839: Thank you.

CLA1337: You’re just lucky I can reason with the Supreme Leader.

[ENK’s face goes pale.]

ENK839: He knows?

CLA1337: Of course he knows. Who do you think filmed the footage? He infiltrated dressed as a trooper.

[ENK839 laughs shallowly.]

CLA1337: The Supreme Leader is not threatened by sympathizers. He can’t fault you for having a conscience. I think he has sympathy for them, what with his mother being their General.

ENK839: I love the First Order, so do many in the underground! Yes, some wish to join the rebels, but many of us are loyal to Kylo, we just wish he was doing better, that’s the only reason we mix with the dissenters. But if the First Order doesn’t change, we will defect. 

CLA1337: I’m trying to show you how misguided all this is.

ENK839: Misguided? In the last two weeks I have been ordered to kill twenty six men and women. I left twelve widows in my wake. Thirty two children without fathers!

CLA1337: Do we kill civilians? Yes, but only because they work for the Resistance, never innocents. If you and your friends want the murders to stop, help us calm the unrest. The Supreme Leader asked me to change your mind so that we can all avoid violence. 

ENK839: I hadn’t thought of —

[He is cut off by a muffled voice from outside. It is loud but indiscernible. Then CLA1337’s Holotable boots up. It is the same voice. General Blackstone.]

BLACKSTONE: Attention all citizens of Coruscant. Attention all citizens of Coruscant. This General Blackstone. I am contacting you concerning a matter of galactic security. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is believed to have fallen in with the Resistance. He has been spotted at their base on the planet Jakku consorting with the enemy. 

[ENK839 and CLA1337 lean forward.]

BLACKSTONE: On this matter, the Consulate has met and discussed all options. Due to his refusal to take our repeated calls and the strong evidence that he has taken a Jedi lover, we cannot be certain of his allegiances. If he attempts to return to the capital, he will be subject to the truth seeking talents of Bor Chalet. 

[ENK 839 and CLA1337 look at each other then back to Blackstone.]

BLACKSTONE: We will not be deterred. In this dark time, we look to our leadership to light the path ahead. I present to you the Consulate’s decision to deal with the issue at hand… Kylo Ren no longer serves the Galaxy. It is my great honor to announce that effective immediately we inaugurate Supreme Leader Armitage Hux to lead us in these uncertain times. Long may he rule. Now, a word from The Supreme Leader. 

[The transmission cuts to Hux. He is wearing a new uniform, more strict and striking than his old one. His hair parted to make his profile appear more jagged and ominous than before.]

HUX: Be it known that until he proves otherwise, Kylo Ren is to be considered an enemy of the consulate. Upon his return, Bor Chalet will find out his true motives, until then any military personnel caught conversing with him will be detained. It has also come to my attention that there are those among our own ranks who feel dissatisfied with the First Order and may be reconsidering their loyalties. Let me be clear. Each and every one of them! Will be hunted down! And exterminated with extreme prejudice! The First Order Reigns!

[And with that the transmission ends.]

[The shadowtroopers exchange a look of fear.]

———————————————————— 

**Scene 30: The Offer**

[Rey’s quarters, night. She is woken up by voices and footsteps outside her door. She sits up in bed, listening. The voices sound familiar. Rey gets up out of bed to investigate. They trail away as she opens the door, she could tell it was two people, but they snuck away before she could see. Rey grabs her dual bladed saber and heads out into the hall to follow them.]

[The voices continue. She follows them into the docking bay just in time to see two figures heading out of the ship and into the dark night. She follows at a careful distance.]

[The figures approach Kylo’s ship, weapons ready. As Rey nears them she realizes it is Poe and Finn, their blasters drawn.]

[Rey reaches out with the force and knocks them to the ground.]

POE: What the —

[They turn to see that Rey had followed them.]

FINN (whispers as not to wake Kylo inside the ship) : What are you doing here, Rey?

REY (also whispering): I could ask you the same thing.

[Poe stands and gathers himself indignantly. All three of them continue to talk in hushed tones.]

POE: We’re taking care of a problem.

REY: Problem? You mean you’re trying to kill Kylo in his sleep?

FINN: Yes. He’s the Supreme Leader. All that is evil.

REY: You should be ashamed of yourselves. Finn, especially you.

POE: Especially him?

REY: Poe, you’ve shown me who you are. This is no surprise. But Finn, you’re better than this.

POE: Gee, thanks.

FINN: If we kill him it’ll send the First Order into chaos and we’ll have time to strike.

REY: No.

POE: What do you mean, no?

[Rey pulls her saber from her robes and ignites it. The blue light dancing across their faces in the dark.]

POE: Rey, don’t do this.

REY: Then don’t make me. Turn around. Go back inside and go to sleep.

[Poe and Finn look at each other.]

FINN: You wouldn’t kill us, Rey. We’re your family.

[Rey takes a breath.]

REY: You are. That’s why I’m asking you, please. His mother just died. Let him grieve and go back to the First Order, then we can fight them together.

[Finn looks down in shame. Poe furrows his brow in displeasure but still holsters his blaster.]

POE: Fine. But when we do lay siege to Coruscant, if we lose, it’ll be on you.

REY: We won’t lose.

FINN: I hope you’re right.

[Rey turns off her saber and puts it away.]

REY: Go on back. Now.

[Poe and Finn begrudgingly do as they are told. Rey does not walk with them, disgusted by the assassination attempt, she collects herself and allows them to walk back without her. Then, when they are well inside the ship, she too heads to return back.]

[Just as she does so, however, she hears voices from inside Kylo’s ship.]

[Rey investigates closer. She can only hear muffled syllables. What sounds like a female voice and Kylo responding.]

KYLO: Hux…. okay…. thank you…

[She leans into the door to listen closer.]

KYLO: You serve me well CLA1337. I shall return immediately. The First Order Reigns.

[There is static from a commlink turning off and Rey shifts to leave.]

[As she turns back toward the base, she hears a voice inside her head.]

KYLO: Rey. I know you are there. 

[She stops.]

KYLO: Come inside.

[Rey looks back at the star destroyer base, then returns to face Kylo’s ship. The door opens.]

[Kylo is sitting on the floor of the ship wearing casual sleepwear. Rey enters and takes a seat next to him.]

KYLO: Your friends tried to kill me just now.

REY: You sensed them?

KYLO: Yes.

REY: Why didn’t you stop them? They wouldn’t have stood a chance.

[Kylo sighs.]

KYLO: Because I knew if I didn’t you would.

[Rey pauses to think for a moment.]

REY: You wanted me to come in, so we could talk.

KYLO: Yes.

REY: What about?

KYLO: I got a call from my most trusted ally. I believe you have had the pleasure of meeting her.

REY: The shadowtrooper?

KYLO: One of the five, yes. CLA1337. She had some… disheartening news from the First Order.

[Rey doesn’t respond but is listening.]

KYLO: It would appear that my loyalties have come into question. Hux has ousted me. He is now the Supreme Leader.

REY: Why do they question your loyalties?

KYLO: The consulate believes that I am consorting with the Resistance. Some even think you and I are romantically involved.

[Rey scoffs but turns her head to hide the fact that she is blushing.]

KYLO: I know, ludicrous.

REY: Is it true? Do you sympathize with us?

KYLO: No. I have a certain respect for the cause, but most of that was because of my mother. Now that she is gone, I have little love for the Resistance.

REY: Oh.

[Rey is downcast, she had hoped she could turn him.]

KYLO: But I have not been the leader I ought to be.

REY: What do you mean?

KYLO: I treat my allies kindly, pay my troopers well, but we continue to acrew new recruits by less than savory means. And I have been ruthless to my enemies when perhaps mercy is better.

REY: Mercy?

KYLO: Yes. As you showed to your friends outside. And as you have shown me countless times… despite what I am.

[Rey reaches out and touches his knee.]

REY: You have a good heart, Ben.

[Kylo draws away.]

KYLO: I… I don’t know about that. But it doesn’t matter, not with Hux in charge.

REY: You could take back the First Order.

KYLO: To what end?

REY: Be a better ruler, be kind to your enemies. 

KYLO: To the Resistance, you mean.

REY: Yes.

KYLO: Why?

REY: Because it’s the only way to stop the bloodshed. How many troops do you have, you think?

KYLO: The First Order has one and a half million stormtroopers across all sixteen galactic systems. Half that many TIEs, two thousand star destroyers.

REY: Exactly. Even with the combined forces of all our allies, we have maybe four hundred ships across the galaxy, less than a thousand fighting members. Be kind to us. End the war. It’s the only way the Resistance will survive. 

[Kylo gathers his thoughts.]

KYLO: I don’t believe I could. I’m too far gone.

REY: I’ve seen it. I’ve heard your laugh, I know there’s light left in you.

KYLO: The light side tempts me, but I only allow myself to be guided by it when you are near.

REY: Then I’ll come with you.

KYLO: Come with me?

REY: Yes. 

KYLO: Rey.

[Kylo looks at her intently]

KYLO: Are you saying what I think you are saying?

REY: Take me with you, Ben. Let’s rule the galaxy together. 

[Rey extends her hand to him.]

REY: Please.

[Kylo takes her hand.]

—————————————————————

**Scene 31: The Vote**

CLA1337’s quarters. She is resting on the balcony, arms on her knees overlooking the city-planet below. 

[Flametroopers march through the streets, pulling people out of their homes and interrogating, looking for information on the defectors and where they are meeting. Those found to have less than satisfactory answers are made examples of…. burning them alive right there in the middle of the road.]

[CLA shakes her head in sorrow and disgust.]

Her commlink buzzes and comes to life. Hux’s image appears before her.

HUX: CLA1337.

CLA1337: Supreme Leader (she says trying not to vomit). How can I assist you?

HUX: Your presence is requested in my offices. You and your crew are to report immediately.

CLA1337: Immediately?

HUX: Yes. You still serve the office of Supreme Leader, do you not?

CLA1337: Of course I do sir.

HUX: Then I will see you here as soon as possible.

CLA1337: Oh I would, Supreme Leader.

HUX: What appears to be the issue?

CLA1337: My shadowcat is sick you see. I can’t leave her.

HUX: Shadowcat? Are they permitted on consulate property?

CLA1337: Well, technically no. But I use it to help with my Field Trauma, sir. I have night terrors.

HUX: Oh… very well then. Report at your earliest convenience.

CLA1337: Very well sir.

[She hangs up the comm.]

[Camera swipe to coruscant underground hideout warehouse of fringe stormtroopers.] 

[Due to Hux’s announcement, even more disgruntled troopers have come to rally against the machine. Roughly two and a half thousand in all, a large mix of political views among them. Some dislike the First Order and are considering defecting to the rebellion, others are self proclaimed loyalists, who serve Kylo Ren but have been unhappy with his brutal treatment of their enemies. All agree on one thing though, Hux is no Supreme Leader.

[All here are wearing civilian clothes. The majority of them have the buzz haircut of a stormtrooper in varying lengths, those that do not are the friends or significant others who have come to support. ENK839 is among them. He is standing toward the front of the group, facing the others. Behind him is a black and silver R3 model. Near him are the other leaders of the group, VNA1 a tall woman who looks as if her features were carved from stone, and KD074 a stocky dark man with the type of beard only a man who was once religious but now believes in no god other than the blaster, could grow.]

[KD074 is standing to address the crowd. Their chatters subside as he speaks.]

KD074: Brothers and sisters of the storm, I greet you. As you have no doubt heard, Supreme Leader Hux wishes to exterminate us.

[There are grumblings among the crowd.]

KD074: But fear ye not! The Rancor shall not descend upon us this day. 

[The crowd murmurs their agreement.]

KD074: I know we all have varying opinions on the correct course of action, but one thing is clear. This new Supreme Leader is a hateful, snivelling charlton. To this end, I will present before you today two options for action: one from sister VNA1, and the other from brother ENK839 then we will vote. The path with the most votes is what we will do. Were we to split, neither course would have enough support to succeed. Do we agree?

[The crowd speaks among themselves for a few seconds. There is a handful of troopers who take issue with the proposal, but none so strongly that they wish to speak in front of everyone.]

KD074: So be it. I will now yield. VNA1?

[KD074 returns to his seat and VNA1 comes to the podium. Despite her rugged appearance, her voice sounds like silk.]

VNA1: Colleagues… friends. The First Order could be a beacon of hope and light to the galaxy. Its might is greater now than even the Empire’s in the old days or the Republic before that. And to his credit, we had a leader in Kylo ren who was more measured than Snoke and more clear-headed than Palpatine.

[The crowd mutters their approval for her words.]

VNA1: But hear me well; I am no loyalist. The First Order could be a force for change, for prosperity, but it is not. Even under Ren the aristocrats get wealthier and the poor remain creditless. And now with Hux, things will only get more dire. It is time my friends, time to follow FN2187’s example of moral purity and goodness. We have been talking about it, but there is no better time than now. It is time for us to leave this planet. Let us go to Jakku, join the resistance. With our intel and experience they might stand a chance. Without it, they are doomed. They will call us scum. Because we are scum. rebel scum!

[The crowd chants in time with her “rebel scum, rebel scum!”]

[Pleased with herself, VNA1 sits back down. ENK839 stands in front of the crowd as well.]

ENK839: Hello. I am going to be transparent about who I am, because at this point, what does it matter? I am not a stormtrooper.

[Some members of the crowd gasp. Others curse angrily under their breath, but they let him continue.]

ENK839: I am not a stormtrooper, because I am a shadowtrooper.

[The crowd goes silent. Few knew the shadowtroopers existed at all, and none knew their identities.]

ENK839: Doesn’t matter if you know now, because it seems I am out of a job. I will not serve the usurper Hux or his conniving advisor Blackstone. Perhaps it is because of my profession, but I am a loyalist through and through.

[Someone from the crowd shouts.]

Someone: But Kylo Ren is gone!!!

ENK839: He is, but not for long.

[The crowd murmurs.]

ENK839: He is returning as we speak. He seeks to reform the First Order. Take back the throne and rule benevolently. 

[There is talking amongst the crowd.]

ENK839: Yes, he is returning. VNA1 is correct, if we do not defect, the resistance has no shot at victory in a full-on assault. I work closely with him, I’ve seen the good in him, and I’ve seen the darkness to be sure. But this time he is not coming alone. The Jedi Rey accompanies him to keep his mind clear and kind. So I ask you, do you stand to improve the galaxy, or do you want to give up, abandon all progress, turn your backs on the First Order and side with terrorists who will lose this fight? Enough of war, enough with the hate and violence. Stay here, help Kylo take back the capital, then help him make the galaxy prosper!

[A rumble of hope whispers its way through the crowd.]

[ENK839 returns to his seat. KD074 stands to meet the crowd again.]

KD074: Brothers and sisters of the storm. You have heard the options. Join the resistance and stand for truth, or side with the returning Supreme Leader to right the ship for a better, more pure empire? Right arms for Rebellion.

[Many in the crowd raise their right arms with a closed fist. The R3 unit makes a series of beeps and boops.]

KD074: Now left arms for loyalty. 

[Again the crowd raises their arms to vote and the droid beeps the total.

[KD074 nods]

KD074: 1,287 for defecting... 1,289 for loyalty.

———————————————————

**Scene 32: Voices**

[Inside Kylo Ren’s ship, they are heading through hyperspace. He is sitting in the pilot’s chair, Rey is lounging on one of the slashed seats behind him.]

KYLO: You didn’t tell them?

REY: The resistance?

KYLO: Your friends. The traitor and the pilot. The ones who tried to kill me.

REY: Finn and Poe, yeah. No. If they knew there was unrest in the First Order, they’d strike now. besides….. they wouldn’t have understood. They would think you were mind controlling me or something.

[Kylo smiles.]

KYLO: Mind control?

REY: Yeah. Doesn’t work on Jedi.

KYLO: How do you know? It could be all this is an elaborate scheme to get you away from them.

REY: I know because it was my idea.

KYLO: If I was mind controlling you, that’s just what I’d want you to think.

[Rey giggles dismissively.]

REY: What do you do with these?

[Kylo looks behind his shoulder to see Rey investigating the lightsaber’s handywork.]

KYLO: Usually I have one of the custodians patch it. Or I get new seats if it’s terribly bad.

REY: Why?

KYLO: Because I don’t like having torn up furniture to remind me of my... less than admirable qualities.

REY: No, I mean why do you attack inanimate objects? Do the buttons give you funny looks?

[Kylo chuckles]

KYLO: No. It’s… hard to explain.

[Rey approaches him, standing next to the seat.]

REY: Try.

[Kylo takes a breath and thinks for a moment before speaking.]

KYLO: The force… the more I get in touch with it… it wants to react, to reach out. Sometimes my limbs don’t obey me. They have to strike, have to destroy something, in order for me to regain clarity again.

REY: Sounds like you could use meditation.

KYLO: I used to do that… when Luke was training me. But it just made the voices louder.

REY: Voices?

[Kylo reaches out a hand, palm up. Rey places her hand in his.]

[There is a swirling of color and sound. Then silence. Then she hears it.]

SNOKE: You were never truly loved.

DARTH VADER: Finish what I started.

LUKE: I should have killed you. Spared the galaxy Kylo Ren.

[Kylo removes his hand and Rey startles backward gasping.]

KYLO: See…

[She shakes her head to clear her mind.]

REY: Lies. They are illusions. The dark side warping your memory.

KYLO: No they aren’t. Not all of them.

[He closes his eyes and reaches out again. She takes his hand. Another voice comes. This one clearer and more tangible than the others.]

HAN: Don’t fault me for the senate demanding your time and me being busy with shipments. I didn’t even want the kid, remember? I told you to get the procedure. Too late now. 

[Rey jerks back, hurt in her eyes.]

REY: Han?

KYLO: I told you he would disappoint.

REY: But on Starkiller base. I saw the love in his eyes for you. He meant it.

KYLO: I know. 

[Trying to hold back his own pain.]

KYLO: People are complicated.

[The ship comes out of hyperspace above Coruscant. Rey looks out the window at the city streets below. There are torches and troopers filing through the side roads. Some of them are chanting inaudibly. Many of them are armed.]

KYLO: You know what isn’t complicated?

[She looks at him questioningly.]

KYLO: War.

———————————————————————————

**Scene 33: Plans of Attack**

There is a short scene to show Kylo’s ship landing in the underground’s docking bay. Kylo and Rey exit the ship to greet all five shadowtroopers, each wearing civilian clothes.

[The shadowtroopers kneel at Kylo’s feet.]

CLA1337: Supreme Leader. Welcome back.

KYLO: The pleasure is mine. This is Rey, my friend.

[The shadowtrooper captain salutes Rey.]

REY: Pleased to meet you.

CLA1337: We’ve met. You are talented with a saber. Perhaps you could teach me a few things.

REY: Met… Malachor! That was you? 

CLA1337: An unfortunate first encounter to be sure. I was only doing my duty.

[Rey’s face changes from surprise and anger to something kinder.]

REY: I understand. I would have done the same.

KYLO: What is the plan? You mentioned something of reinforcements?

CLA1337: Yes. We are gravely outnumbered. But with the element of surprise, and ENK’s near 2500 — 

[Kylo looks to the trooper with the emerald eyes and nods his thanks. ENK salutes in return.]

CLA1337: — the capital will be yours, Supreme leader.

KYLO: Excellent. Rey and I will head for the consulate complex. 

CLA1337: The retinal scanners will no longer respond for you, sir. You won’t be able to get in.

KYLO: That’s right… But surely the Supreme Leader’s Elite Task Force can.

[CLA nods.]

KYLO: Okay, new plan. You and your men head inside, we’ll disguise ourselves. Then open the doors for us and let us in. ENK, you send the message to your people. Have them come in behind us, half will enter to provide assistance, the others are to secure the facility from any brave soldiers who wish to die for Hux.

REY: Got it.

CLA1337: Understood.

KYLO: May the force be with you.

————————————————————————

**Scene 34: Dark Thoughts 3**

Location unknown. The screen is black. There are muffled sounds. A pulling on the arm this way. A push forward. Pain in the stomach. Wincing. The sound of a door opening. A voice speaks through the haze.

VOICE: Forward. Now.

[A shove. The blackness shifts. We see light at the bottom of the screen. Boots walking forward on a hard metal surface. To the left and right are two other pairs of boots, these ones armored.]

[Someone is talking but the voice is indiscernible, sounds feminine.]

[The armored boots walk forward on either side of the leather ones then stop. The bag is removed from the head. Looking left and right we see troopers holding the arms of someone shackled. A familiar jacket. The head is forced to bend over. Looking up we see a blue razor light. A double bladed saber igniting. Rey’s face looking down, her hair up in a high bun, a dark silver tiara on her head. The saber raised for the execution.]

[The blades come down toward his neck. Finn wakes up.]

[He is alone in his quarters. Finn bolts up in bed, sweating, his mouth agape. A look of terror on his face.]

[He stumbles out of bed and falls against the wall, confused and disoriented.]

[Finn scrambles to his feet and leaves his quarters heading into the hall.]

FINN: REY! REY?

[He goes to her door and pounds on it. It does not open.]

FINN: REY!!!???

[He pounds hard again, not realizing how hard. His knuckles crack and bleed from the impact.]

[Finn pulls out a tool and messes with the control on the door, it opens. The room is empty. He collapses to the floor weeping and shaking.]

FINN: I…. I… 

[There are footsteps coming toward him.]

[Finn looks up to the door and sees Poe.]

POE: Oh my god buddy, are you okay?

[Finn doesn’t respond, he just shakes on the floor rocking back and forth.]

[Poe sits down and wraps his arms around Finn.]

FINN: It was so real. So real…. 

POE: Did you have a bad dream or something?

FINN: No… not a dream.. I …. I don’t understand.

[POE looks around the room, just now realizing they are the only ones in it.]

POE: Where’s Rey? 

—————————————————————————

**Scene 35: Coup D'état**

First Order Consulate Complex, exterior. 

[The Elite Task Force approaches the building. As they near the door, they see a group of 4 troopers, 2 on either side, facing outward, rifles in their hands.]

[ENK looks to CLA questioningly, she shrugs.]

GUARD 1: Halt.

[The EFT stops.]

CLA1337: Can we help you, Gentlemen?

GUARD 2: Who are you, what are your callsigns.

CLA1337: I am CLA1337, this is ENK839, FA48, SRO14, and WLR008. We are —

GUARD 3: They’re clear. Elite Task Force. The Supreme Leader is expecting them.

GUARD 2: ETF? My apologies. 

CLA1337: No harm done. What is all this anyway?

GUARD 1: There was a rumor of Kylo Ren’s ship being spotted in the underground. The Supreme Leader believes he will try to contact loyalists and stage a coup.

CLA1337: That would be treason.

GUARD 2: Agreed. If he is here and seeks to reclaim his position he should submit to Bor Chalet if there is nothing to hide.

CLA1337: Thank you for guarding the entry. The First Order is indebted to your service. 

GUARD 1: Just doing our duty, ma’m. I hardly think we are heroes. We just operate the door.

CLA1337: Operate it?

GUARD 2: Yes. The autopads have been disabled. Once they close, the doors can’t reopen without our inputs.

GUARD 3: It’s bantha work, really. Nothing glamorous.

CLA1337: Can’t reopen?

GUARD 1: No ma'am.

[CLA looks to ENK, they exchange a knowing nod.]

CLA1337: Well, thank you again gentlemen.

[Her shadowtroopers head inside ahead of her one by one.]

GUARD 2: It is our pleasure to — 

[He is cut off mid sentence. Or rather the upper half of his torso is cut through mid sentence. The Darksaber igniting at point blank range, CLA1337 striking fast and precisely to cut down the two closest to the door. The remaining two level their weapons at her.]

CLA1337: Nothing personal, boys.

[They fire but she deflects their shots, then weaves past their aim in one swift motion to stab them both in the chest. Their armored bodies fall to the floor.]

[There is the sound of a siren inside the building.]

CLA1337: Damn auto duress life monitors.

[She pulls out her commlink.]

CLA1337: A squad advance immediately. B squad prepare to reinforce our position.

[A crackling voice comes onto her comm]

TROOPER: Roger that, captain.

[A string of troopers files toward the door from the cover of the nearby buildings. Her allies each have a band of red paint across their masks in honor of Finn, emulating the red blood streak across his in Episode 7.]

[Troopers mobilize from both directions. Comotion is heard from inside. Shouting. Blaster fire.]

[First Order troopers and the Loyalist troopers both descend on the consulate complex.]

CLA1337: Hurry, get in!

[She shouts to her allies as blaster fire cuts through the night and fizzles on the ground around her feet.]

[CLA raises her blaster and shoots toward the approaching First Order reinforcements, killing three troopers in an instant. Their return fire misses her completely.]

[A squadron of troopers led by two in ill-fitting armor head through the door. CLA goes in behind them as dozens more First Order troops arrive. The door shuts behind her, locking the majority of the loyalists outside with the First Order. The ETF and roughly a dozen other loyalist troopers are inside, they hear blaster fire and shouting is heard from the other side of the door.]

[She turns to the two who led the charge inside.]

CLA1337: What now?

[They take off their helmets to reveal it is Kylo and Rey.]

Kylo: You and the ETF follow us. We’ll go for the consulate.

REY: The rest of you be on the lookout for troops and cover us as we advance. 

[Kylo smiles subtly to see Rey commanding stormtroopers so naturally.]

Trooper 1: Got it.

Trooper 2: Yes, Supreme Leader.

[They advance further in. Down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. Footsteps approaching. A flurry of blaster shots. Kylo holds up a hand and all the blaster bolts freeze in mid air, hanging suspended. The First Order troops look on in awe. Kylo motions with his fingers and all the bolts accelerate in the opposite direction, killing the troops that fired them.]

[The group advances further into the compound until they come to the consulate hall. The doors are barricaded shut and nearly four dozen troopers stand guard, half of them holding flamethrowers. They see the Loyalists and fire.]

[Troopers on both sides are struck and killed, though more of the First Order guards fall faster than the insurgents. The flametroopers advance and their weapons roar to life. Rey and Kylo extend their hands to part the flames. More fire from both sides. More corpses fall.] 

[Most of the loyalists inside are killed, no one among the ETF is. When less than ten remain, Kylo reaches out and freezes them all in place.]

CLA1337: Let’s head in.

[Kylo force pushes the door and it bangs to the floor inside the consulate chamber.]

[Inside there is a table at which sit Hux, Blackstone, and the two other commanding Admirals: Kariggan, an older woman who looks as if she had never heard a joke in her life, and Wolfe, a man whose scowl lives up to his name.]

WOLFE: Was that necessary? The door was unlocked.

[The four of them have their weapons drawn on the intruders.]

HUX: I see the rumors were true. You have taken in with the rebels. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

KYLO: I’ve had enough of you. 

[He reaches out and force chokes all four of them simultaneously. They struggle to breathe.]

REY: No. Show them Mercy. 

KYLO: Mercy… They don’t deserve it.

REY: Then do it for the people. Show the galaxy how you have changed.

[Kylo loosens his grip on the consulate. Hux fires his blaster. Out of instinct Rey deflects the bolt to protect him.]

REY: No!

[But her outcry is too late. It bounces back and hits him in the chest, killing him instantly.]

[Rey’s face drops.]

[The rest of them lay down their weapons and hold their hands up in surrender.]

—————————————————————

**Scene 36: Sunrise**

Resistance Star Destroyer Base. Exterior.

[Poe is sitting alone near Leia’s Grave, looking out into the morning sunrise. His theme will play softly in the background intertwined with hers. He looks somberly at her gravesite, his face vulnerable and slightly scared.]

POE: General, I… I don’t know if I can do this. You were… 

[He struggles for the words. Poe stares for a long moment in silence.]

[There is movement in the background coming down from the docking ramp of the star destroyer. A figure approaches the gravesite. It is Rose. She stands quietly, letting Poe gather his thoughts.]

POE: I just hope I don’t let you down.

[He reaches in his pocket and places something on the ground. On top of the grave.]

[He frowns slightly, then stands and walks to meet Rose.]

ROSE: General Dameron. 

POE: Rose. How’s Chewie doing?

ROSE: He’s beating the pilots at Holochess. They think he is cheating.

POE: He’s 200 years old, of course he’s better than they are. 

[She laughs.]

POE: What else?

ROSE: I got the turrets up and working. If the raiders come again or anyone else, we’ll be ready. They require a little learning to operate though.

POE: Show me.

ROSE: Yessir.

[They walk back into the base and the camera lingers from Leia’s gravesite. The low sunrise glinting off Han’s Millenium Falcon dice resting on Leia’s grave.]

————————————————— 

**Scene 37: A Better Empire**

Balcony of the First Order Consulate Complex. Kylo, Rey, and The Elite Task Force stand flanked by First Order Judges and Ceremonialists in exquisite robes. 

[The streets are lined with countless troopers all in their armor. Some Loyalists, some First Order, now standing side by side in parallel rows watching the balcony.]

[A man in elaborate layered robes approaches the crowd of what must be tens of thousands of troopers, stretching out as far as the horizon in every direction, come to witness the historic day. The man is Quarik, High Templar of the Consulate.]

QUARIK: My countrymen. These past few days have been a time of confusion and unrest. Armitage Hux seized control of the First Order with the aid of a corrupt consulate. Words were exchanged. Kylo Ren returned. After a period of aggressive negotiations, the conflict was resolved. The Supreme Leader is Dead!

[As if on cue the crowd responds as one]

CROWD: Long live the Supreme Leader!

[Kylo raises his arms and the crowd cheers for him.]

QUARIK: I give you the once and future ruler of the galaxy, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren!

[Kylo walks forward and the crowd cheers for him again. Some out of loyalty, some fear.]

KYLO: Thank you, my subjects. My people. My friends. I know things have been confusing for you. But all that is over now. There have been many rumors concerning my loyalties. Allow me to be clear. I have no love for the Resistance. They are a terrorist cell of well intentioned but misguided souls. The past has been dark and confusing for many. I have not been the best ruler I could be. I know that. I have done much self reflecting these past few days. And I stand before you a reformed man. This war has gone on long enough. Starting today, we will not strike at the Resistance save in defense of our property or country. I aim to foster peace between us. 

[The crowd roars its approval.]

KYLO: In observance of this, I give you my solemn oath. I, Kylo Ren, swear to be a better ruler. To listen more to my friends. To show kindness and mercy to my enemies. As a reminder of this from today onward, we will be known as The Second Order! 

[Kylo motions for Quarik to come forward. He does. In his hands is a medium sized rectangular black and red metal box.]

KYLO: You will no longer refer to me as Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. You will address me as Emperor Ren. However, there cannot be softness and mercy with one unchecked all powerful ruler. 

[He motions for Rey to join him in front of the crowd. She does, a look of uncertainty and confusion on her face.]

[Kylo opens the box and lifts the item up and into the light. It is an ornate dark silver tiara.]

KYLO: And this shall be your Empress Rey. Together we will keep each other kind and well tempered. 

[Rey’s eyes go wide for a moment in surprise. Kylo sets the tiara on her head.]

[She steps forward to speak to the crowd.]

REY: Hello.

[The crowd cheers. Rey looks to Kylo. He mouths the words “say something” to her.]

REY: So let us look forward with pride and optimism to the future. Let this day be a beacon of light in the darkness. A New Hope for the galaxy. The birth of a better Empire! 

[Rey takes a step back, hoping that was acceptable enough. Kylo smiles in approval.]

KYLO: The Second Order Reigns!

[The crowd roars with thunderous applause.]

—————————————————— 

**Scene 38: Interpreting Dreams ******

********

********

Resistance Star Destroyer Base.

[Interior Morning. Finn, Amrath, and C-3PO are talking in Finn’s quarters.]

FINN: Can you tell me about the Sith, your people’s connection to the Force?

C-3PO (translating for Amrath): The force is different for us than most folks. We don’t so much use it as it uses us.

FINN: What do you mean?

C-3PO: Often when someone in my tribe would push or pull something to them, they described it like the force willing the object to them, they just allow it to use them.

FINN: Except you. You never let it?

[Amrath shifts a little in his seat.]

C-3PO: I tried sometimes. I would reach out my hand and try to open a door or move a rock. I never could like the others.

FINN: What do you know about visions?

[Amrath’s eyes go a little wide. He speaks quietly almost under his breath.]

C-3PO: Amrath says he had a vision once, it wasn’t good.

FINN: Can you tell me about your vision?

C-3PO: I saw what was to be. My people slain, eaten. Their bodies empty of spirit.

FINN: But visions can be wrong, can’t they?

C-3PO: It depends…. For those in tune with the force, it can overpower them, show them possible futures. Those of us who can’t weild it, who it does not wield, we can only see what will be. Unless we can come to use it.

FINN: What do you mean?

C-3PO: Why do you want to know all this anyway?

FINN: I… I saw something. 

C-3PO: Something bad?

[FInn is quiet for a moment before answering.]

FINN: Yes.

[Amrath reaches out to comfort him.]

FINN: And if I can’t use the force?

C-3PO: You already know the answer to that.

[Finn looks away, a solemn expression on his face.]

———————————————————————

**Scene 39: Promises from the Underground**

Stormtrooper underground base, the troops are cheering to celebrate Kylo being back in power.

[All here are wearing civilian clothes. ENK839 is among them along with the tall woman VNA1 and the ex priest KD074.]

[The crowd is chanting. KD074 stands and raises his hands to quiet them down.]

KD074: Brothers and sisters of the storm, we have done it! There is hope for the Second Order, a new dawn, a new empire of light!

[The crowd cheers.]

KD074: Now, I am aware that there is yet some concern among a few of you. To broach your concerns, VNA1 will give an address.

[He sits back down and she stands.]

VNA1: Thank you, KD074. Now, my friends. The preacher is right, we have won the day, ousted Hux. But I ask you still, how many of you think we chose rightly? How do we know things will be different? 

[A murmur makes its way through the crowd.]

VNA1: Emperor Ren says he is reformed, claims he has had a change of heart, but how do we know this isn't just hollow appeasing? ENK is close with him, he could have told The Emperor that we desire change of policy and hope. Kylo Ren may just have said what we wanted to hear.

[The murmur grows more heated and stronger among the crowd.]

KD074: Harsh words from the Lieutenant. Your thoughts, shadowtrooper?

[ENK839 stands to greet the crowd]

ENK839: You accuse me of corruption? Of whispering in his ear? I wouldn’t do that.

VNA1: Mark his words, that is not a denial!

ENK839: And if I denied this, would you believe me? It seems you’ve already determined what to think.

[There is a grumble in the crowd.]

ENK839: And what would convince you, what would sway the dissenters?

VNA1: Absolution.

[The crowd agrees with a rumbling affirmation.]

ENK839: What do you mean, exactly?

VNA1: We will be convinced of his change of heart if he pardons us our crimes of treason and if he pardons the Resistance, makes a public peace with them. 

[ENK839 and VNA1 glare at one another.]

ENK839: It will be done.

[The camera swipes to the Emperor's throne room. There is another chair there. This one smaller, but just as striking in its shapes and majesty. Kylo and Rey sit side by side. Rey is wearing her hair up in a high royal bun, the same one we saw in the visions, the tiara sitting on the crown of her head. The door to the room opens and Blackstone enters, head facing downwards, and walks toward the new Emperor and Empress.]

BLACKSTONE: Your graces.

[Kylo and Rey nod to him recognizing his right to speak freely.]

BLACKSTONE: I come to you with news.

KYLO: What is it?

BLACKSTONE: Some of the troops in the 501st are requesting personal leave. Two of them have caught the Rexon Virus. Another wishes to go on maternity leave. 

KYLO: Yes.

BLACKSTONE: Pardon me?

KYLO: Give them the paid leave they request. Additionally, extend maternity leave to male parents as well. 

BLACKSTONE: Paternity?

KYLO: Yes. Do you have an issue with this?

[BLACKSTONE shakes his head.]

BLACKSTONE: No sir, I do not. 

KYLO: Empress, how long should we give parents leave for?

[Rey is caught unprepared for the question but composes herself then answers.]

REY: I think… as long as they feel they need for their situation. Maybe 3 months to start, then they can ask for extensions per their situation? 

KYLO: I agree.

[Blackstone is dumbfounded, standing in disbelief.]

KYLO: Do you have a problem with this, Admiral?

BLACKSTONE: No sir.

KYLO: Good. The Second Order Reigns.

BLACKSTONE: The Second Order Reigns.

[Kylo looks to Rey, she smiles nervously, but softens after a moment and we can see she is genuinely proud of him.]

——————————————————————

**Scene 40: The Call**

Resistance Base. Finn is in the communications center, dialing a comm code into the console.

[He fumbles the code, typing it in incorrectly.]

FINN: Damnit, that’s not right

[He tries again.]

[Poe appears at the door and comes in.]

POE: What are you up to?

FINN: I, uh, I’m just.

[The display comes on showing Rey’s face. Finn and Poe stare for a moment at her new hair and tiara, taking in how regal and un-resistance she looks.]

REY: Hello?

POE: Rey! What’s with the new outfit? Are we playing dress up? I can go get my wookie costume.

[Poe laughs at his own joke, Rey does not.]

REY: Hi guys.

FINN: Rey. Where are you?

REY: I… I’m on Coruscant.

[Poe and Finn exchange a look.]

POE: Why?

REY: I am here with Ben. He’s changed. We are helping to establish peace — 

POE: Peace? After all they’ve done!

FINN: It looks like you’re one of them now. Have you forgotten us?

REY: No, of course not. But the Second Order can’t be beaten with force.

POE: Second?

REY: Yes. We renamed in order to represent — 

POE: WE!? What We!

[Rey hesitates to answer.]

REY: I am ruling by Ben’s side. I wasn’t sure of it at first, but — 

POE: RULING!? So what, you’re the Supreme Leader too?

REY: Empress, actually.

POE: EMPRESS!?!

REY: It isn’t as bad as — 

POE: As what, it sounds? You’re the Empress of the First Order? I think that’s exactly as bad as it sounds.

REY: Second.

POE: Whatever. 

FINN: Rey, come back. Come home.

REY: My place is here now. I’m helping to pass laws that will end the conflict, foster peace between the Resistance and — 

POE: Don’t talk like that, like you aren’t one of us. Like we didn’t fight for years for revenge.

REY: Revenge? For what?

POE: For Han! For Leia! Paige, Snap, Aftab, Holdo, for BB-8!!!!

REY: Revenge is not the way. It only brings suffering.

POE: We were going to make them suffer together! Without you we will lose!

REY: The Resistance was going to lose with me anyway. There doesn’t have to be war.

FINN: Rey, come back, people here need you… I need you.

REY: Ben has changed, he wants to be good. I have to stay here to keep him in the light.

POE: He’s a liar and a murder.

REY: Not any more.

FINN: Rey, even if he wants to change, are you really willing to bet on that? Bet all our lives on his redemption? What if he tries but fails? What then?

POE: Finn’s right! Come back. You must have inside intel now, you can help us defeat The First Order.

REY: Second.

POE: Whatever it is, doesn’t matter, it’s evil! Don’t join them!

[Rey looks somber. and frowns.]

REY: I wish I could get you to understand. But this is the way. It’s the only way we have a chance. Don’t attack. Join us, you won’t be harmed. 

FINN: Don’t go this way. Please. I need you to teach me…

REY: I’ve already taught you everything you need. Just listen. Trust me.

[Poe and Finn look at each other.]

POE: Don’t make us do this, Rey. Don’t make yourself our enemy.

REY: I’m not making you do anything. There doesn’t have to be any fighting. Ben is good now. We want peace, please. Listen.

FINN: No! You listen! You were meant to be the new Luke Skywalker. You were supposed to save us!

REY: You’re wrong. I was never meant to be anyone but myself. 

POE: I’ve heard enough. If this is your choice, fine. But I hope I don’t see you on the battlefield.

REY: There doesn’t have to be a ba — 

POE: Goodbye, Rey. So much for family. It was nice while it lasted.

REY: Poe…

[But Poe storms away and out of the room. Leaving Finn and Rey.]

FINN: I.. I’m sorry about him.

REY: It’s okay. I get it.

FINN: Rey, I wanted to tell you something.

[Rey looks at Finn intently, raising her eyebrows in question.]

FINN: I don’t know how to say it. I… I had a dream. A… a vision I think.

REY: What?

FINN: Yeah.

REY: What was it of?

FINN: I’d rather not say… but… I was wondering if you could teach me to use the force. To control it.

[A light comes to her eyes, and she is filled with joy]

REY: You have the force?! Finn, that’s great!

FINN: Well, I wanted you to teach me.

REY: It would be easier if I was there.

FINN: Then come here. Please.

REY: I can’t. But just listen to it. You’ll hear it talking to you, deep in your bones. Imagine the snow, a cold night, then think about the warmth of a ship engine, huddling next to it. It’s that promise of comfort in times of unsurity.

FINN: Can you just come back and show me here?

REY: You can do it, just takes some practice. I believe in you.

FINN: …. Okay. Thanks

REY: Of course. I should get going though. I have some business to attend to.

FINN: Okay. But Rey?

REY: Yes?

FINN: Just, don’t forget whose side you’re on, okay?

[Rey frowns.]

REY: I miss you Finn, may the force be with you. 

FINN: Yeah. You too.

[The call ends.]

———————————————————

**Scene 41: ENK’s Request**

Throne room, coruscant.

[Kylo is sitting alone in the throne room. Rey has left for business elsewhere.]

[There is a knock at the door.]

KYLO: Enter.

[The door opens and we see ENK in his shadowtrooper armor, he enters and the door shuts behind him. He walks forward to meet Kylo.]

ENK839: My Lord.

KYLO: Trooper.

ENK839: I was hoping I could speak to you on a matter of grave concern.

KYLO: Of course, what troubles you?

[ENK removes his helmet so that Kylo can see his face.]

ENK839: It is the Loyalist forces, sir. There are those who are wary of your return.

KYLO: They doubt my service to the Second Order?

ENK839: Your change of heart… it makes them nervous. They are unsure how genuine or permanent it is.

KYLO: And what do they wish to see as proof?

ENK839: Pardons, sir. They would like to be pardoned for their crimes of insurrection and treason against Hux.

KYLO: Granted.

ENK839: Thank you, sir. They also request that you pardon the Resistance. Allow them to live seperate and free.

[Kylo looks downward in sadness for a moment.]

KYLO: I’m sorry, ENK839, but I cannot do that.

ENK839: Why?

KYLO: Because, I can see.

ENK839: See?

KYLO: Yes. If I pardon them, I see rallying.

ENK839: The Resistance? No sir, I’m certain they would stand down, live independent and peaceful.

KYLO: You don’t know them, I do. I’ve walked side by side with them on the sands of Jakku. Their Poe Dameron would never agree to live peacefully with us. But no... it isn’t them I see rallying.

ENK839: Who then?

KYLO: Look at this window and tell me what you see.

ENK839: Pardon me, sir?

KYLO: Indulge me.

ENK839: I see buildings, people, streets. 

KYLO: Coruscant. You see the capital of the Second Order. On this planet there are 200,000 troops. Less than one percent of them sympathize with the Resistance. Half of those are loyal to me. It is not the resistance I am worried about rallying, ENK839. If I pardon those who have waged war on us, it will not be their mercy that I need.

[ENK839 looks away.]

ENK839: I understand, sir. But do we have to kill them? 

KYLO: No. We can have peace. If the Resistance would join us, if they lay down their arms and swear fealty, there will be no need for blood.

ENK839: Yes sir. You are wise. I should go.

KYLO: The Second Order Reigns.

ENK839: The Second Order Reigns.

———————————————————————

....continued in Chapter 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of my alternate Star Wars Episode 9 script. - not_rian_johnson

**Scene 42: Dancing With Shadow**

Coruscant, stormtrooper training arena. The room is an oval shape, the walls steel, the floor coated in sand. There are a few support columns as well field markings, thin lines of black sand contrasting with the pale brown to indicate distances and target zones.

[Rey is there, not dressed in her empress garb, but instead the more form fitting and wraps and robes of a jedi. She is standing at one of the black lines, looking across to the door ahead, waiting.]

[The door opens and CLA1337 walks out, she is also dressed in training clothes. They look at each other and bow.]

REY: Ready?

CLA1337: Always.

[Rey lunges up and forward and in one swift motion commands the lightsaber from her belt into her hand, ignites both ends of it, and strikes downward at the shadow trooper. CLA1337 meets the blue blades in midair with the darksaber, its blackness casting unnatural shadows over Rey’s face, swallowing the light from her own saber.]

REY: Remember to hold the image of your opponent in your head, no matter where they move or what they do, keep their image clear.

CLA1337: And this is how jedi do it? Always thinking in the fight?

REY: You must stay connected to your opponent.

[They exchange strikes and parries.]

CLA1337: Emperor Ren said to let aggression guide the blade. Emotions do not lie. 

[The blue and black lights wash over the scene, and sand is kicked up in their wake.]

[Rey twirls her staff and catches CLA1337 off guard, she trips backward.]

REY: That is the way of the dark side. Not the whole view.

[CLA leaps forward and thrusts, her blade barely missing Rey’s head. Rey stumbles.]

CLA1337: And you see the whole view? Doubtful. Maybe that’s why your parents left you.

[Rey’s brow furrows. She strikes repeatedly, more violently more in line with Kylo and CLA’s style than that of the Jedi. CLA1337 turns off her saber and drops it.]

CLA1337: I yield! I yield!

[Rey turns her saber off, a look of surprise in her eyes. She had let her emotions take over, this was not the way of the Jedi. The camera slowly zooms onto Rey’s eyes and we see how shocked she is.]

[Cut to the Emperor's personal chambers. Match cutting Rey’s eyes onto Kylo’s. He is sitting on the side of his cot, looking at the helmet of Darth Vader and Darth Nihilus’ mask in the open crate, all the other trophies, and relics that he has collected over the years.]

[There is a look of sadness in his eyes. The realizations that none of these artifacts have brought him any solace, that even still he is unsure what path is right.]

[His commlink buzzes. He turns it on to accept the call. A gruff and chiseled face greets him, it’s Blackstone.]

BLACKSTONE: Your grace.

KYLO: Admiral. What is it?

BLACKSTONE: My reconnaissance force has detected something of great interest not far from here.

KYLO: What is it? 

BLACKSTONE: On Dantooine, we have discovered a rebel cell. Mostly younglings. But they are aiding the smuggling efforts of one Lando Calrissian. We have reason to believe the group is transporting illegal goods to the Resistance. Shall we move on their position? We can eliminate the threat.

KYLO: No. Stand down. We will not fire upon the Resistance or their supporters. I want to be clear that the Second Order does things differently.

[Blackstone’s eyes show his disgust clearly.]

BLACKSTONE: Yes. Emperor. As you wish.

KYLO: Is that all?

BLACKSTONE: …. yes sir.

KYLO: Very good. The Second Order Reigns.

BLACKSTONE: The Second Order Reigns.

————————————————————

**Scene 43: Lies**

Stormtrooper underground base, the troops are cheering to celebrate Kylo being back in power.

[All here are wearing civilian clothes. ENK839 is among them along with the tall woman VNA1 and the ex-priest KD074.]

[There is a palpable discontent and restlessness among the crowd.]

[VNA1 is addressing the group] 

VNA1: My friends, The Second Order is here, but what does that mean for us? How are we to know if Emperor Ren is indeed changed?

[The crowd grumbles.]

VNA1: There is a rumor that General Leia Organa is dead! It is public knowledge that she was the Emperor’s mother! If anything this would unhinge him more! Give him less reason to be kind to the Resistance than before, now that he has no family among them! If he does not forgive them for their crimes, I say he is no Emperor of ours! If he does not free them, we will free the Second Order of his scourge. Are we to be blind loyal dogs, or are we free scum!

[The crowd begins to chant. “rebel scum, rebel scum!”]

[VNA1 sits down and ENK839 stands to address the crowd. A nervous expression on his face, but when he speaks, his words are confident and sure. He has to speak loudly to be heard over the angry roars of the crowd.]

ENK839: I applaud VNA1, she is a great lieutenant and a better orator. Is it concerning? Yes. Is this a time for fear? Yes. Be afraid, be active, be attentive. But before you storm the Consulate Complex, listen and hear my words.

[As he speaks the crowd quiets down and all ears heed what he has to say.]

ENK839: I met with The Emperor not six hours ago. We spoke about the concerns, about what this quorum demands. About hope. 

[ENK takes a steady breath before he continues.]

ENK839: I am happy to report that our cries have been heard. Emperor Ren has agreed to absolve the Resistance and recognize them as a free and independent governing body. The war is over. 

[There is a collective wave of relief across the crowd and ENK steps back to sit down again, pleased that he has saved Kylo from a violent coup, even if he had to lie to do it.]

[In the back of the crowd, unnoticed by the others, a stormtrooper shakes their head slightly in disappointment. Their armor ill-fitting.]

[The camera swipes to ENK walking back to his quarters, a few minutes later alone on a street long forgotten by the Empire but well known to scoundrels and thieves.]

[As he walks, there is a noise, another set of feet, following him.]

[ENK looks over his shoulder but sees no one, he continues, quickening his pace.]

[A rat scurries across the path ahead, rummaging for forsaken food among the compost bins.]

[There is another noise, close this time.]

[ENK looks over his shoulder then sprints down a side alley to escape his unseen pursuers.]

[Just as he does, his limbs fail him. His arms and legs stop, mid stride, frozen in place.]

[Behind him is the stormtrooper from the rally. Arm outstretched. ENK is confused and scared. Then we hear a familiar voice.]

KYLO: ENK839, you are under arrest for knowingly spreading misinformation and endangering the peace of the galaxy.

————————————————————————

**Scene 44: Finn Studies**

Resistance Star Destroyer base, meditation chamber. Due to the angle that the ship rests, the room is tilted 45 degrees from how it would have sat in its prime. The eerie space is even more foreign now that it is empty. The once slanted ceiling, now an unnatural floor level floor. Chairs and computer consoles askew on the screen adding to the atmosphere of disconnection from the material world and attunement to the feelings of the force.

[The door to the chamber stands open. A figure appears and walks forward slowly, their shadow growing along the opposite wall. It moves in silence, and music plays a light motif in the background, something hopeful but incomplete.] 

[As the figure comes closer into the frame we see it is Finn.]

[Finn walks along the floor of the chamber slowly, unsettled by the space.]

[He approaches one of the command consoles and opens its drawers. We see what he has come here for: The Jedi texts. Finn pulls out one of the books and sits with it, opening it on his lap.]

[The figures and symbols in it swim in his head. His eyes glaze over. He flips the page. More dry figures and outdated language. Another page. Then another. Every page he reads is dreadfully boring.]

[After a few more beats of study he returns the book to the drawer.]

[Fin retrieves a power coupling from another drawer and places it on the ground in front of him. He closes his eyes and focuses. Reaching out his hand.] 

[He imagines a cold snowy night, his arms freezing, then he thinks of the warmth of coming in to sit by a roaring engine or a fire. Finn focuses on this feeling, the promise of hope and light. He stretches out his hand again, keeping his eyes closed to maintain focus. ]

[The music suddenly stops as Finn’s hand begins to tremble, his mind occupied solely with the coupling ahead. He wills the power coupling to move, to come to his hand…. but nothing happens.]

[Finn falls to his knees, his shoulders heaving, his breath quickening. Tears begin to form at the edges of his eyes.]

[He reaches out again, trying to pull the object to himself with the force…. but there is no change. The power coupling just sits there, mocking him silently.]

————————————————————————

 **Scene 45: The Trial**

Second Order Consulate Complex, prison cells. The walls are lined with white barred cells, the interior of each is an oppressive red color. The lights, the walls, the floor, and the cots, all the same oppressive red.

[On the left hand side of the cell block, ENK839 sits on his cot staring at the wall ahead.]

[The hall doors open and footsteps are heard approaching. We see that it is CLA1337. She comes to ENK’s cell.]

[ENK839 speaks, his voice dejected and void of hope.]

ENK839: Hello Captain.

CLA1337: ENK… what happened. I heard you were charged — 

ENK839: Misinformation… it’s true.

CLA1337: Why?

ENK839: Because the galaxy has no room for good people. Try to sew kindness and hate grows instead. The others, they were going to murder The Emperor. I was trying to calm them. He was in the crowd. He heard me.

CLA1337: I’m sure your trial will be just and fair. The Emperor is a good man. He’ll show you mercy.

ENK839: You have so much… hope. I don’t understand it, Captain.

CLA1337: The Second Order is a force for good, for light. I know it is. It has to be. 

[The speaker system in the wall crackles on. A droid’s voice cuts the air between them like a hot knife.]

DROID: ENK839, report to the southwest balcony for trial. ENK839 to the southwest balcony.

[His cell bars slide up and away into the ceiling.]

[ENK looks toward the hall doors expectantly, but no one comes.]

ENK839: No guards to escort me?

[A sad look comes across CLA’s face. And ENK understands.]

ENK839: Oh… you.

CLA1337: The Emperor wanted to make sure you wouldn't fight the escort… try to kill them and escape... so he sent me. 

ENK839: … okay Captain. Lead the way.

[The camera swipes away from the cell block and to the southwest balcony of the Consulate Complex. Kylo and Rey are there as well as HIgh Templar Quarik. Thousands of troopers looking on from the ground floor below.]

[A dull roar of rumors and speculation can be heard from the crowd, many troopers whispering to one another, small children asking their mothers what is going on. Teenagers scrambling to get a better view.]

[Through the doorway ENK appears, his arms shackled behind his back. CLA1337 escorting him at blaster-point.]

[They approach Kylo and Rey then stop.]

[The crowds quiet down to watch.]

[ENK walks to face Rey and Kylo, in front of the watching crowd.]

QUARIK: ENK839, you stand here charged with knowingly spreading misinformation, destabilizing the status quo, and resisting arrest. Empress Rey and Emperor Ren will stand as judges in this matter. Let the trial begin!

[Quarik walks back to stand in line with the other court officials.]

REY: ENK839, tell us in your own words, what happened. We pledge on our stations as Empress and Emperor to hear your plight and judge you with eyes keen to justice and hearts open to mercy.

[ENK does not step forward to speak for the crowd, when he talks it is directly to Kylo, in a voice no louder than a regular conversation.]

ENK839: Your grace, I served you for years as a loyal servant and I serve you still, all I have done, I have done to protect and honor you.

KYLO: Honor? Do you honor me by undermining my decisions and lying to the public about my intent? I am unfamiliar with this means of honor. 

[ENK looks down ashamed.]

REY: Do deny your crimes, ENK839?

ENK839: I deny the crime of disloyalty, of conspiracy or insurrection, I deny ever having a heart contrary to the good of the galaxy.

REY: That was not the question. Do you deny the things for which you stand accused?

ENK839: … No. I do not.

REY: Help us understand why. 

ENK839: Why? Why did you abandon your people on Jakku to come here and rule, my Empress?

REY: I am not the one that stands trial.

ENK839: You did it because you believe in Ben Solo. Because you want to save your friends. It was a sweet betrayal. To save people from suffering. 

[REY shifts her weight between her feet, not responding.]

ENK839: I know what I have done. I will accept the punishment gladly.

[Kylo looks to Rey. Her eyes are soft. His are not.]

[She mouths the word “mercy” to him. He shakes his head. She frowns.]

REY: You are hereby found guilty. 

[CLA1337 looks to Kylo hopefully.]

REY: The punishment... is death.

[Kylo walks forward, takes ENK by his shackled wrists, and brings him to the edge of the balcony so that the crowd may see him better.]

[ENK839 looks at the crowd, then back to CLA1337. She turns her head away.]

KYLO: Do you have any last words, trooper?

[Kylo bends ENK over, head down, neck exposed.. Kylo draws his saber and ignites it, holding it above ENK’s head for a moment.]

ENK839: The Second Order Reigns.

[Kylo nods his head solemnly.]

KYLO: the Second Order Reigns.

[With a swift motion Kylo brings his saber down, decapitating ENK, his body slumps back onto the balcony and his head falls into the crowd below.]

[For a moment there is silence. Then someone in the crowd screams. There is movement in the crowd. Then a hiss starts from somewhere to the east of the stage, it grows louder, then louder. Then, as if with one mind, hundreds of stormtroopers in civilian clothing pull out their helmets and put them on. Helmets bearing the blood red stripe of dissention in honor of Finn.]

[Blasters are fired. Around them pockets of civilians and other troopers fall, each of them shot at deadly range in a crowd too dense for escape.]

[From the balcony Rey watches in horror as a civil war breaks out below. Loyalists, dissenters, and Second Order purists, all firing upon each other. Their distance from the balcony and their numbers too great for intervention.]

[A grenade is thrown onto the stage. Rey and Kylo duck for cover. It explodes in a blinding white flash. The screen goes white and a high pitch ringing is heard.]

[There is more firing, yelling from below.]

[Rey and Kylo cannot see anything but they hear a nearby voice shouting orders. Blasters firing.]

[Someone grabs Rey’s arm and pulls her up. Kylo is next to her. both are being guided by CLA1337 whose shadow trooper helmet allows her to see through the smoke and blinding light.]

CLA1337: Come on, let’s get you two to safety!

[More screams are heard from below as the three of them head back into the consulate building, the armored door shuts behind them, and the sounds of blaster fire and screams are silenced by the heavy door.]

—————————————————————————.

**Scene 46: Fallout**

On the surface of the planet Dantooine. 

[The planet is covered in lush forests and green trees. The camera follows a group of stormtroopers as they watch a band of smugglers from afar. Most are teenagers and young adults. A few are veterans, including Lando Calrissian.] 

[One of the troopers calls into the command ship above the planet.]

TROOPER: Admiral Blackstone, we have the smugglers in our view. What are the orders from Coruscant?

BLACKSTONE: Do they seem dangerous?

TROOPER: None of them are armed, sir.

BLACKSTONE: Confirmation, you are reporting that the smugglers have fired upon us and that retaliation is necessary for self defense, correct?

[The trooper hesitates.]

TROOPER: Yes sir. that is correct.

BLACKSTONE: You are within your right to defend yourselves. Do as you see fit.

TROOPER: Understood.

[The squadron of troopers descends on the smugglers, firing into the group with extreme prejudice. There are screams, Lando pulls out a hidden blaster from his cloak and shoots down a few troopers, the squadron moves into position, Lando hides behind a stack of crates, the troopers advance. A few remaining teens flee the scene, they are hunted down and shot]

[Lando types something into a command strip on his wrist, and red light blinks on at regular intervals. Lando runs off into the forest, the troopers pursue.]

[The camera swipes back to Coruscant. We see the wreckage of the civil conflict. Hundreds dead in the streets. Smoke billowing up from buildings.]

[Inside the consulate complex, security chambers, Rey and Kylo are regaining their senses.]

CLA1337: Emperor, Empress. You are safe.

REY: Thank you, CLA1337. Any reports from outside?

CLA1337: The dissenters fired seeming without a goal, they were all angry, those not near purist forces shot whomever they could. 

KYLO: What is the casualty toll?

[CLA1337 responds without looking at Kylo.]

CLA1337: Nearly 800 deaths. The majority of them dissenter forces. Roughly 300 civilian deaths.

KYLO: And what of the rest of the dissenter forces?

[CLA1337 speaks to him again, making eye contact for no more than a few seconds then looking away.]

CLA1337: I am hearing that they fled the planet, though this has not been confirmed. Some of the loyalists left with them, others sided with the purists and remained true to the Second Order. To you.

KYLO: I sense unease in you…. you are unhappy I executed your friend. Do you question my judgement?

CLA1337: It is not my station to question you, my Emperor… 

[Kylo frowns.]

REY: Thank you for your service, CLA1337. The Emperor and I need to discuss state matters. You are dismissed. We will contact you when we know our next course of action.

CLA1337: Understood, my Empress. The Second Order Reigns.

REY: The Second order Reigns.

[CLA turns and leaves the chamber.]

REY: Ben, I….

KYLO: You think I made the wrong choice. That I should have shown mercy.

REY:... yes.

KYLO: I wanted to. I did.

REY: Then why?

KYLO: Because conflict was inevitable. If I had forgiven him, we would have kept the dissenters happy but there still would have been violence. Maybe not today, but I saw the 197,000 purist troopers turning on us. 

REY: Better to be on the side with more numbers. We would have been overthrown, replaced with more ruthless leadership. 

KYLO: Yes. Likely Blackstone. There would be no hope to govern with kindness. Better a small rebellion that is easily squashed than the alternative.

[Rey frowns.]

REY: Okay, I understand. So what now?

KYLO: If the dissenters are gone as CLA1337 says, there should be no more friction. We can enact laws toward peace. Maybe draft up a treaty for the Resistance. Terms for them becoming Second Order citizens that they would be happy with. 

[Rey’s expression softens but she is still worried.]

REY: I don’t know if that’s possible.

KYLO: We have to try. No one else has to die. You know them better than I do. Can you help?

REY: I can talk to them… see what they feel would be fair.

KYLO: Thank you, Rey. We can do this. Together.

[He holds out his hand to her. She takes it. A look of fondness and hope in her eyes.]

REY: Together.

————————————————————

**Scene 47: The Treaty**

Resistance Star Destroyer base on Jakku.

[Poe and Rose are chatting near one of the turrets.]

POE: So remind me again how this works.

ROSE: These are all on a circuit. The one I showed you earlier is a module but the mag cable’s dual centric core is still negatively charged resulting in a suboptimal connection to the adjacent node switches.

[Poe blinks, not understanding any of what she said.]

ROSE: Think of them like a string of lights. If one goes out, the others near it will have less power. I fixed the bulb, but we’re really just bypassing its intended use by powering it with a weak battery. The wire still lacks voltage. We have to fix all the others to get this one at prime functionality.

POE: And how long will that take?

ROSE: With just me? There are over four dozen turrets on this destroyer. 

POE: What does that mean, in time?

ROSE: I don’t know… years.

POE: We don’t have years. What if I can get you help?

ROSE: Help?

POE: I was planning on putting out a call to our allies in the outer rim, get us all to rendezvous and plan a siege together. They’ll have mechanics.

ROSE: Mechanics trained in civilian and Rebellion tech. Still won’t help much. But yeah, it’s better than nothing I guess.

[The commlink behind them buzzes. Poe looks at the incoming code.]

POE: It’s Rey. Don’t answer.

[Rose is unhappy with his order, she waits, hearing it buzz. After a few moments she gets up and hits the button to accept the call.]

POE: I told you not to — 

[Rey’s face comes on the display.]

[Poe sits up straight.]

POE: Rey. What do you want?

REY: Hello!

ROSE: Rey, how are you! How is Coruscant! Oh my stars your hair is amazing! I love that tiara! We miss you!

REY: Thanks, Rose! I miss you guys too!

[Poe is displeased.]

REY: Hello, Poe.

POE: What do you want?

REY: I called to negotiate a treaty.

POE: Treaty?

REY: Yes. This war has gone on long enough, Emperor Ren and I have agreed that it is for the good of the galaxy that we offer an opportunity for the Resistance to become lawful citizens of The Second Order.

POE: No.

REY: Poe, there’s been enough death. We want peace.

POE: Liar.

REY: I wouldn’t lie to you.

POE: No?

REY: No, of course not. I have drafted up terms I think you will find pleasing, and I’m more than flexible to whatever you feel would be fair.

POE: What would be fair is for us to lay siege to Coruscant, to rain fire and death on you from above, leave your troopers burning, their widows weeping in the street, and were you to finally beg us for mercy I will take your holy saber and run it through your gullet. 

REY: … what? Why would you?

POE: You are evil, deceptive, and cruel, coming to us with lies of peace. How dare you insult us.

REY: Poe, I meant it, I — !

POE: You mean it? Then explain this!

[Poe switches on a button on the console to show Lando’s recording of the slaughter on Dantooine, The troopers killing the smugglers, him fleeing into the forest and them following till he hides in a nearby village. They search for him raiding the civilians, women and children shrieking in terror as they are beaten, as flamethrowers roar to life, their skin peeling off. The troopers find Lando and advance on him.]

Lando: Say hello to Akbar for me.

[He presses a button on his wrist and triggers a remote mine, and the ground under the troopers explodes, three of them are knocked back and killed. The others fire upon him, he falls as blaster bolts penetrate his body. They continue firing long after he is dead, his body twitching. The feed ends in static.]

[Rey’s face is pale with shock.]

POE: This doesn’t look like peace to me.

REY: I had no idea, I swear.

ROSE: I believe you. Poe, I believe her. Rey wouldn’t order such a thing.

[Poe is quiet for a moment as he contemplates then he speaks.]

POE: Maybe you’re telling the truth, but if you are, it means either Kylo is ordering this behind your back, or you generals are not listening to your wishes. Either way, in answer to your question, we will not be negotiating any terms. The Second order cannot be trusted. Goodbye, Rey.

Rey: Poe, I —

[But he cuts the commlink off.]

——————————————

**Scene 48: The Emperor’s Justice**

Coruscant, Throne Room, a few hours later.

[Kylo and Rey are sitting on their thrones, CLA1337 by their side. High Templar Quarik is speaking with them.]

QUARIK: My Lord, my lady. Word has reached that the prisoners are experiencing great unrest. The High council of Templars have also heard whisperings that when the Loyalist and dissenter forces left the planet, they stole a large portion of rations from sector B.

REY: What ails the prisoners?

QUARIK: Those that were sympathetic to the Resistance feel that their lives are in danger by the purist inmates. 

KYLO: How many of them are incarcerated for violent crimes?

QUARIK: Roughly 16%, my lord.

[Rey looks to Kylo, he nods.]

REY: Release all prisoners who have not spilled blood to get where they are. Purists first, then dissenters the next day. Any war criminals who show genuine remorse are also permitted to leave. Those unburdened by guilt are to remain.

QUARIK: Yes, my lady.

KYLO: On the topic of the Sector B citizens, you may take from the consulate stores. We do not need to eat lavishly.

QUARIK: Thank you, my lord, they people will be pleased. What of the loyalists and dissenters who did not escape with the others?

KYLO: Have them come to the capital, if they swear loyalty, they will be forgiven their insurrection.

QUARIK: Very good, sir.

REY: You are dismissed, Quarik.

QUARIK: The Second Order Reigns.

KYLO and REY: The Second Order Reigns

[The commlink in CLA1337’s helmet beeps on. She converses with someone whose voice we do not hear.]

CLA1337: Yes. Are you sure? Very good.

KYLO: What is it?

CLA1337: FA48 reports that she has seen Blackstone’s forces docking in bay D.

KYLO: Keep them there.

CLA1337: Yes sir.

[The camera swipes to the docking bay. We see Blackstone and his squadron of about twenty troopers exiting their craft. Shadowtrooper FA48 is speaking with Blackstone.]

BLACKSTONE: What is the meaning of this? 

FA48: You are commanded by Empress Rey and Emperor Ren to remain where you stand.

BLACKSTONE: For what cause?

FA48: I am not at liberty to divulge that information, all will be addressed in time. 

BLACKSTONE: This is preposterous, I am the Admiral. You cannot command me. What if I had my men fire on you?

FA48: I am a member of the Emperor’s Elite Task Force. Your troops have poor training and worse aim. I’m certain I could draw my blaster and roast all of you in a manner of seconds, if you’d like to take the wager, I’d be happy to oblige.

[Blackstone hurumphs in disgust but stays where he is.]

[The door to the docking bay opens and Kylo, Rey and CLA1337 enter. Kylo is walking very quickly toward them.]

BLACKSTONE: Kylo! I’m happy to see you, I was just telling your lapdog here that — 

KYLO: Shut up.

BLACKSTONE: You are in no — 

KYLO: I said quiet.

[Kylo reaches out his hand and snaps Blackstone’s mouth shut. He tries to speak, but only muffled grunts escape.]

KYLO: You usurped the First Order from me, gave Hux the command and I granted you a second chance. Rey, tell Admiral Blackstone what you heard from Poe.

REY: We were to bargain with the Resistance for peace. I was negotiating terms for them to join us. Then he played footage… 

[When Kylo speaks there is a boiling anger under the surface of his voice.]

KYLO: Footage of what!?

REY: Footage of your men storming Dantooine. Slaughtering innocents. 

KYLO: Blackstone, you and your men have jeopardized our relations with the Resistance.

[Blackstone’s troops raise their weapons.]

[Rey waves her hand and all their blasters fly out of their grip toward her and land at her feet.]

KYLO: The Second Order is a bastion of peace and goodness for the galaxy. We will enact laws of mercy and extend olive branches to our enemies! We will not be undermined by our own forces! 

[One of the troopers speaks out.]

TROOPER: This woman is corrupting you, Ren. The Resistance are ruthless terrorists who must be dealt with in a language they understand. You want peace for the galaxy? They must exterminate the threat, that’s the only way we’ll be at peace.

KYLO: Exterminate the threat? Is that how you all feel?

[The troops all voice their agreement.]

TROOPER 1: Yes.

TROOPER 2: JFS38 is correct.

TROOPER 3: They are scum.

[A dark look comes across Kylo’s face.]

KYLO: Alright then. I will exterminate the threat.

[He reaches out his hand and one by one each of the troopers floats up into the air. Kylo jerks his hand backward and Rey senses a dark wind howling through their bones. Their bodies contort and the wind whooshes out of their mouths. and toward Kylo. Kylo lets go of his grip on them and their bodies crumple to the ground, lifeless.]

[Blackstone looks at his men in horror.]

BLACKSTONE: What… what are you?

[Kylo walks toward him and draws his saber.]

KYLO: I am the Emperor.

[Kylo ignites his saber and thrusts it into Blackstone’s chest. He falls over onto the steel floor with a thud.]

[Rey and CLA1337 exchange a look of terror.]

—————————————————

**Scene 49: Movable Objects**

Resistance base, exterior.

[Finn is sitting with his legs folded underneath himself in the sand. His jacket that used to be Poe’s is laying on the ground in front of him.]

FINN: Come on….

[Finn stretches his hand out aboves the jacket. His eyes focus on the fabric.]

[Finn concentrates but nothing happens, the jacket just lays there.]

FINN: Move! 

[It does not move.]

[There is a sound from above Finn. He looks up and sees Rose sitting on a metal ledge of the star destroyer, her feet dangling above him.]

FINN: Ah! 

ROSE: Hi there. 

FINN: Uh, hi.

ROSE: What’re you doing?

[She swings down to his level, landing in the sand next to him with grace.]

FINN: I’m, uh. Just patting out the winkles. This air is rough on the fabric.

ROSE: Sure, sure. Definitely doesn't look like you’re trying to use the force to move it.

FINN: You know, you’re, uh — 

ROSE: I’m what?

[She smiles teasingly at him. Finn blushes.]

FINN: Nevermind…. but yeah. I was trying to move it.

ROSE: Why?

[Finn struggles to explain.]

FINN: I… Rey’s gone, we need someone with the force.

ROSE: And why is that? 

FINN: It’s just. Symbols and hope and all that.

ROSE: Oh, very inspiring.

FINN: No, I mean, yes but….

[Rose looks at Finn, tilting her head slightly to the side.]

FINN: I… it’s embarrassing.

ROSE: Try me.

[Finn takes a breath.]

FINN: I had a vision. A Force vision.

ROSE: Wait, really?

FINN: Yeah. It was of Rey… executing me.

ROSE: She wouldn’t do that. Maybe the vision is wrong.

FINN: That’s why I’m trying… Amrath told me that visions can be wrong if the person uses the force. If they can’t, then the vision will happen.

ROSE: And you believe him?

FINN: He’s a Sith, he’s very in touch with the force.

ROSE: He’s also a child and is inclined to not have a completely accurate view on things.

[Finn looks down at the ground, concerned.]

[Rose puts an arm around him. Finn pulls away slightly.]

ROSE: You know what I think?

FINN: What?

ROSE: I think this whole galaxy puts too much value on Jedis and Siths. What about everyone else? You’re telling me the entire fate of everything is determined by two people with stuffy religious views?

FINN: Well, maybe not but…

ROSE: Listen.

[Rose picks up the jacket and shakes the sand off of it.]

ROSE: We’re all wrong sometimes. Poe, Rey, Amrath, you, even me.

[Finn looks at her questioningly.]

ROSE: I was wrong to kiss you on Crait, I could tell you weren’t into it. My feelings for you are clear, but I know you don’t feel the same way. And that’s alright. We make better friends anyway.

[A small smile comes to Finn’s face.]

FINN: Thank you for understanding.

[Rose smiles.] 

ROSE: Of course! But there’s one thing I’m not wrong about.

FINN: What’s that?

[Rose puts Finn’s jacket on him around his shoulders.]

ROSE: When Paige and I were first hearing about the war, it wasn’t stories about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader that inspired us, Rey isn’t the reason I joined the Resistance. 

FINN: but — 

ROSE: No. Paige and I were never impressed with the tales of people moving objects with their minds. I didn’t see myself in the legends of Jedi or Sith. It was the story of a stormtrooper who knew the difference between right and wrong. That’s what moved us. The Resistance doesn’t need a Jedi right now. Finn, we need you.

[Finn looks at Rose, the spark of resolve in his eyes.]

FINN: Thank you.

———————————————————————————————————

**Scene 50: Who Are You?**

Second Order Consulate Complex, Rey’s quarters.

[Her room is bare but comfortable. The cushions and bedding are plush and dressed with the finest linens. Rey’s dual bladed saber lies on the end table. She is sitting cross legged, levitating a few feet off the floor, eyes closed.]

REY: Master….

[A few moments later a blue blur materializes in front of her. It takes shape and we see that it is the force ghost of Luke Skywalker.]

LUKE: Rey.

[She opens her eyes.]

REY: Luke. I… I feel lost. Kylo, he — 

LUKE: I know. I saw everything.

REY: I don’t understand this power he has. And I… I thought I was turning him but now I’m not sure anymore.

LUKE: What does your heart tell you?

REY: He’s… he’s good. Or at least part of him is. I know he can be redeemed.

LUKE: Rey, do you understand why I told you not to go to him on Ach-To?

REY: Because you lost faith in him, you thought he was gone, but he can still be turned.

LUKE: No. That’s not the reason.

[Rey looks at Luke with confusion in her eyes.]

LUKE: You’re thinking about this all wrong. I knew he could be, that isn’t the problem.

REY: Then why did you give up on him!? I was with him on Jakku, I saw the change of heart in him.

LUKE: Leia’s death had an affect, it’s true. But no one changes in a moment, no matter how profound that moment. Redemption is not an act. It is a process. I never gave up on Kylo, I just saw how hard that process would be. The amount of light or dark in him was never the issue. This isn’t about Kylo, or you. Or even me. It’s about everyone else. Ask yourself, how many more people have to die, how many of your friends will have to suffer while he claws his way back into the light?

REY: He’s the Emperor, this is the only way we can have peace.

LUKE: Are you sure about that?

REY: I’m… I’m pretty sure.

LUKE: Rey, who are you?

REY: I don’t know. I never knew my family.

LUKE: That isn’t the question I asked. Who are you?

REY: I… I don’t understand.

LUKE: You came here to pull him toward the light, but do you really think simply being here is enough? Where is the girl who defied me and went to meet up with her enemy anyway? The girl who does not agree simply because someone she loves is hurting.

Rey: Love? I never said I — 

LUKE: Rey. I chose not let him be redeemed because I saw the suffering necessary between here and there. But the force is a funny thing, the things it shows us are always moving. The more in tune we are, the less reliable the visions. If you think there is another way, you are not me. This is not a problem I could not have solved.

Rey: But you’re Luke Skywalker.

Luke: That’s why I failed. But a resourceful, strong willed girl who loves, truly loves her mortal enemy? Maybe she could. Or maybe not. Just make sure whatever you choose, you choose it fully and do all you truly can. I am Luke Skywalker, yes. Let me be what you grow beyond.

—————————————————————————————

**Scene 51: Exodus**

Emperor’s Throne Room. Kylo is alone, looking out the observation window at the destroyed city streets below, the smoke still billowing up from some of the buildings. He is troubled with thoughts about Blackstone and his troopers, the ones who disobeyed orders. Who Kylo had to silence, for the good of the galaxy.

[Kylo frowns and turns away from the window.]

[He walks to the side door of the throne room and enters his quarters. Kylo turns past his cot and to the Mask of Vader.]

KYLO: Grandfather… we are close… Rey and I, to accomplish what you failed to.

[The camera slowly zooms in on the mask.]

KYLO: I just… I need more power…. it is time.

[Kylo turns away from Vader’s mask and heads over to the ancient crate from Malachor. He unlocks the seals and opens the lid. His eyes go wide.]

KYLO: No…

[The camera turns to show the inside of the crate, the soft velvet cushioning with a padded spot in the center, but it is empty. The Darth Nihilus’ mask is gone.]

[Kylo types in a code on his commlink.]

[The transceiver beeps its call tone once, twice, three times, but there is no answer.]

KYLO (to himself): Pick up…

[The camera cuts to the interior of the Elite Task Force’s ship. They are rising high above Coruscant, each WLR008, CLA1337, FA48, and SRO14 are all there. They are wearing their civilian clothes.]

CLA1337: You are all sure about this? I don’t want to rope you into anything you are uneasy about. 

FA48: I saw it with my own eyes, captain. I’m not going back.

SRO14: I serve you, not the Second Order not Kylo. 

CLA1337: You do not, not anymore. There are no bonds, you are free of your contracts.

WLR008: Then as a free man, allow me to agree with SRO14, we follow you, Captain.

[CLA1337’s commink buzzes, she checks the incoming code and presses the reject button.]

FA48: So this is really it. 

SRO14: Appears that way.

[A somber look of determination comes across CLA1337’s face.]

[The camera slowly pans back toward the storage bay. There are bags of luggage, all of their shadow trooper armor rest in neat rows hanging from their suspension chambers. At the head of CLA’s cot rests a pillow and on it, shining in the dull light from the small quarters, is the ivory and crimson skull shaped Mask of Darth Nihilus.]

FA48: Where should we go, Captain?

CLA1337: Set course for Jakku.

——————————————————————————————

**Scene 52: Rey and Kylo**

Second Order Consulate Complex, Emperor’s quarters.

[Kylo sits on the side of his bed, hands clasped, looking intently into Dark Vader’s helmet. There is a knock at the door.]

KYLO: Enter.

[The door opens upward and we see Rey enter, dressed in her empress clothing, hair up in a bun, tiara on her head.]

[Kylo looks up and sees her, his expression softens and he smiles.]

KYLO: Rey, welcome. Come in.

REY: I wanted to speak with you. I’ve been thinking.

KYLO: I have too.

REY: What about?

KYLO: The rebelling troopers. We need more power if we are to keep them in line. Any peace with the Resistance rests on them not disobeying orders. We will make an example of the dissenters. Be clear that unprovoked violence on our enemies will be disciplined with the cruelest stroke.

[Rey furrows her brow.]

REY: No.

KYLO: What?

REY: Are you listening to yourself? You want to slaughter any stormtroopers who will not peacefully negotiate with the Resistance? Then you are no better than they are.

KYLO: We have to end this war! Show the Resistance that we mean them no harm.

REY: And what message will that be sending them? Join our ranks so that we can tell you how to live and if you don’t obey us, we’ll kill you too. I wouldn’t want to be part of that kind of Empire.

[Kylo looks deeply troubled. It is clear her words cut him, but he does not retort.]

KYLO (calmly): What would you have us do? How do we assure obedience from troops that have been killing Rebels for as long as they can remember? They understand the language of fear, they understand power.

[Rey takes his hands in hers.]

REY: Meditate with me. I can remind you of the ways of the light side. Guide you. We’ll find an answer that doesn’t require any more death.

[Kylo looks down at the floor for a long moment, then back up into her bright brown eyes.]

KYLO: Alright. Teach me.

——————————————————————————

**Scene 53: Something New**

Resistance Star Destroyer Base.

[Finn, Poe, and Rose are discussing plans in the control room.]

FINN: Any word from our allies?

POE: Nothing yet. Leia had plenty of contacts, I used her code… but no one responded.

ROSE: We can’t give up hope.

POE: I don’t know. If we don’t get reinforcements, I’m not sure what sort of chance we have here.

FINN: Rey would know what to do.

POE: In case you missed it, Rey isn’t here anymore. She’s turned on us. She betrayed the Resistance, betrayed everything Luke and Leia stood for.

ROSE: I don’t think it’s that simple. The galaxy isn’t black and white.

POE: It is, it always has been. Light side and Dark side. Good and evil. Empire and Rebellion. It has always been that simple.

ROSE: And maybe that’s the problem. All this bitterness, the hate, how can we find peace if we do the same thing we’ve always done?

FINN: What are you proposing, Rose?

ROSE: Rey is a smart woman, there is always a reason behind why she does what she does. I think we should hear her out.

POE: No. You may have forgotten what they did to your sister, to BB-8, but I haven’t.... that droid… he was all I had….

[Rose and Finn exchange a look, pitying Poe.]

POE: Kylo Ren has corrupted her mind. She chose him over us and we have to move on.

[There is a noise from off screen. An anguished roar followed by the scurrying of little feet as Amrath rushes into the room, panic in his eyes. He is followed by C-3PO who is struggling to keep up with the Sith child.]

FINN: What in the...

[Chewbacca enters, chasing the boy.]

[Poe steps between them, urging Chewy to calm down.]

ROSE: What’s going on here?

[Amrath speaks hurriedly, C-3PO translating.]

C-3PO: I didn't mean to upset it. On my planet it is a sign of respect for our pets.

[The group looks back at Chewy again, now noticing that a long strand of his hair is half braided.]

C-3PO: Master Amrath thought it would be nice to style Chewbacca’s hair while he was sleeping. He woke up.

[Chewy roars again. Rose stifles a giggle.]

POE: Everybody relax. Finn, why don’t you take our guest to play outside. Make a sandman or something. 

FINN: Right. Amrath, let’s go.

[Chewy holds the braided bit of his fur in his hand examining it, and whimpers. Finn, Amrath, and C-3PO exit the star destroyer into the desert outside.]

C-3PO: I told him it wasn’t a good idea, master Finn, but Amrath didn’t listen.

[They walk a fair distance from the ship, getting some needed fresh air.]

FINN: That’s okay, 3PO. Don’t worry your circuits over it.

[Amrath talks, C-3PO translates]

C-3PO: I’m bored. Got any Rathtars around? We should tame one. Or I could watch you slay a Rancor!

FINN: Your people were quite the adrenaline addicts weren’t they?

[Amrath speaks]

C-3PO: It is not about thrills, it keeps the body primed and the mind sharp.

FINN: I think my body and mind have had enough priming for …

[Finn stumbles forward. Something hit him in the back. He turns around and sees Amrath making another sandball to throw at him.]

FINN: Hey! 

C-3PO: Think quickly, sir.

[Amrath hurls the second sandball at Finn. Finn ducks and bends to make his own.]

[Amrath laughs.]

[Finn throws his sandball and the child dashes out of range of the projectile. Then he keeps running.]

FINN: Wait —!

[C-3PO and Finn look at each other and they both run after Amrath.]

FINN: Where is he going?

C-3PO: I do not know, sir. Master Amrath has not expressed any interest in fleeing nor has he spoken about a far off appointment that would require urgency.

FINN: Appointment? What kind of appointment would a Sith kid have on Jakku?

C-3PO: I do not know sir. 

[They chase him but are unable to keep up. Amrath is gone.]

[The two of them search.]

FINN: Can you track him?

C-3PO: I have not installed a tracking chip in his skin, master Finn. Such technology is reserved for domesticated pets. As far as I am aware sentient beings are against the law to have as pets in every quadrant. Though there are scarce few laws concerning Sith, as they were thought to be extinct.

FINN: What? No. I meant do you detect his life signature?

C-3PO: Oh. No sir. I do not possess that capability. We can return to the ship and get R2. That would be his area of expertise.

FINN: Uh…. maybe. Let’s look around a little more first.

[Just then they hear a sound from the other side from the ridge. They hurry up the incline and look down. There in the valley is Amrath, walking back toward them, holding another figure’s hand.]

[Finn and C-3PO approach. Finn calls down to the figure.]

FINN: Hello there!

[Amrath points up toward Finn and C-3PO. He and the figure walk up to them. As they approach Finn sees that it is a woman. Slightly older than he is, with short red buzz cut hair. It is CLA1337 in her civilian clothes.]

[Amrath hurries back to them and hugs Finn.]

CLA1337: Amrath says he got separated from his family. Is that you?

FINN: Uh, yes. You speak Sith?

CLA1337: I do, yes. If poorly. I’m a bit of a historian.

FINN: Thank you for returning him. I’m Finn. What’s your name?

[Finn extends his hand for her to shake.]

[CLA1337 stretches her hand out and shakes Finn’s.]

CLA1337: My name is… Calla.

FINN: What brings you to these parts, Calla?

[She looks from Finn to the droid and the child, then back to Finn.]

CALLA: Can we talk, just you and I?

[Finn nods]

FINN: Okay. C-3PO, take Amrath back to the base. I’ll return shortly.

C-3PO: Yessir, master Finn.

[They leave.]

FINN: What is it you wanted to talk about?

CALLA: I know you. You’re something of a war hero among my people.

FINN: Your people? You don’t look much like a tusken raider. Although I’ve always wondered what was under the mask but I wouldn’t have thought...

[Calla laughs and rolls her eyes slightly.]

CALLA: No, I’m... I come from… Coruscant.

FINN: You’re a citizen? How did you escape? Did you hire a smuggler?

CALLA: Not exactly. Finn, you and I… we’ve been through many of the same things. Had the same doubts… 

[Finn’s eyes go wide.]

FINN: You’re a... trooper?

CALLA: Ex trooper. We all are. That’s why we came here. We want to fight on the side of good. I’ve had enough of Kylo and his tantrums. 

FINN: So the reports are wrong, then? The Second Order hasn’t changed at all…

CALLA: There has been some progress. Rey means well. She’s trying to change his heart, but he has a power unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s corrupting him. 

FINN: You said you and your people. How many are there? 

CALLA: On my ship there’s me and three others. But there is a force of nearly two thousand ex stormtroopers. All of whom idolize you, just a beacon’s signal away. If you’ll trust us. 

FINN: You don’t need to convince me. My commanding officer on the other hand… he may be a harder sell. 

CALLA: What if I provide intel? I can report on all Second Order defenses, every change of watch schedule and planetary turret location. I also have something of Kylo’s. I think it’s a sort of weapon. 

[Finn smiles]

FINN: Yeah. That should do the trick. Call your people. Let’s win this war.

———————————————————————————————————

**Scene 54: Dual Meditation**

[Emperor’s chambers. The lights are low. Rey and Kylo are sitting cross legged across from one another, holding hands. Their eyes are closed]

REY: Breathe in. Feel the air flow into your lungs. Let it linger. 

[Kylo breathes in, a look of wary concentration on his face.]

REY: You may be uncomfortable, maybe your face itches or your back aches. Recognize those sensations and let them pass. Forget your body. All that exists is the breath. Now exhale.

[Kylo does so.]

REY: Listen to my voice, Ben. Reach out. Forget your rage. Forget your passion. Let your soul be open to the force. Tell me what you see.

KYLO: I see… The planet, Coruscant. The people. So many of them are hurting. 

REY: Good. Now, you’re familiar with all this already. I know Luke taught you. So let’s move further in. Look in your own self. Look in me. What is there?

KYLO: I see a… fire. In me. Anger. The flames consume. The more they eat, the bigger the hunger. In you I see… The sea at Ach-To. The waves. They do not care about feet or rocks. Water is not moveable.

REY: Yes. Keep your mind clear. Do not let your emotions guide you.

[A look of calm and serenity comes to Kylo’s face.]

KYLO: No.

REY: What?

KYLO: You’re wrong. This is not the right way.

REY: What do you mean? The light side of the force is — 

KYLO: What, good? And the dark side is evil? That’s vanity. I see it Rey. I see all things. I was blind before but you’ve opened my eyes to the real truth of things.

REY: I don’t understand.

KYLO: Step into my head. I want you to see what I am seeing. Then correct me if you think I’m wrong.

[Rey looks nervous for a moment, then obliges, focusing deeper.] 

KYLO: The Sith and the Jedi. They are not equivalent to Dark and Light. That is the greatest lie we’ve ever been told. The lie that has caused so much pain. It is the reason these wars continue. Maul and Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Doku, Anakin’s severed soul, the Empire. The First Order. It’s the reason the cycle continues. We have to stop it.

REY: I — see something else.

KYLO: Yes. That’s it. The Jedi and the Sith. Both are religions. To say the dark side is vile is to ignore the benefit of emotion. Light is control, it is apathy. 

REY: A thriving grassland needs both water and fire. 

KYLO: When my uncle came into my tent, it was the ways of the Jedi that caused him to draw his saber. The apathy. The need to extinguish dark. But the shame he felt afterward, the shame I did not see until now… that is the most unjedi thing he ever did. That was the dark side. 

REY: Emotion. It is not just anger or passion as the Sith taught. It can be so much more. Love and Joy too. But the dark needs the light to retain control, sound judgement.

KYLO: Yes. Exactly. 

[Both of their eyes snap open. Rey looks into Kylo’s eyes.]

REY: Ben.

BEN: Rey.

REY: Let the past die.

BEN: Yes. Let’s be something better.

———————————————————————

**Scene 55: The Last Hope**

Resistance Star Destroyer base.

[We see hundreds of ships landing all around the base. These are the ex stormtroopers, there is a montage of the reinforcements boarding the star destroyer, talking with the Resistance. The camera pans through the ship highlighting ex troopers helping with repairs. R2D2 and a black and silver ex imperial droid chase each other through the corridors. Chewy and SRO14 bond over their blasters. Amrath is enamored with their old armor and attempts to wear one of the helmets, it is much too big for him. WLR008 is assisting Rose with getting the engine back online. The camera enters the briefing room where Poe, Finn, and FA48 are discussing battle plans in front of a group of new recruits.]

FINN: Rose and Wyler should have the engines back online and ready to enter hyperspace by morning. We will cloak ourselves. Each of the transport ships has a signal repeater, and with the ETF codes Fae provided (he nods to FA48, thanking her. She smiles and nods back), we can slip onto Coruscant undetected. Even with the reinforcements, we’ll be outnumbered, but we can scramble the radar sensors and repeat the signal. It should confuse Second Order communications long enough for the destroyer to enter orbit and deploy our X-wings and Tie Fighters. We’ll still be outnumbered a thousand to one.

POE: That’s why we will locate the Emperor and Empress, eliminate them, and the Second Order will fall. 

[Finn has a troubled look on his face, not believing that killing Kylo and Rey is necessary, but he doesn’t want to disagree in front of all the new recruits. Instead he just nods solemnly.]

POE: Any questions, squad leaders?

[The troopers all shake their heads, resolve in their eyes.]

POE: Alright. We will call one more briefing meeting tomorrow morning just before we depart. Until then, inspect your ships, make necessary preparations, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, we bring peace to the galaxy. May the force be with you all.

[The crowd disperses leaving Poe, Finn, and Fae]. 

POE: You did good Finn, All these troopers, now we might have a chance.

FINN: I'm not so sure. 

POE: It’s true, buddy. Calla may have rendezvoused them all here, but you’re the symbol that gives them purpose. Speaking of, where is the captain, anyway?

[The camera swipes away and we open to the exterior of the ETF’s ship, Calla is walking toward it when suddenly she is hit with something in the back of her head. A sandball. She turns to look and sees Amrath giggling to himself, ducking behind a small dune.]

CALLA: I see you there, youngling.

[She scoops a handful of sand up and tosses it back toward him. It misses and he laughs again.]

CALLA: Come, talk with me.

[Amrath walks to her, grasping a sandball in his hands hiding it behind his back.]

[When he speaks we see subtitles on the screen telling us what he is saying since C-3PO is not nearby.]

AMRATH: It’s too crowded in there with all the people. C-3PO wanted me to stay indoors, but I escaped!

CALLA: I don’t blame you, all those stormtroopers. It can get smelly. They aren’t known for their hygiene.

AMRATH: Why aren’t you in there with them?

CALLA: There’s something on my ship that might be more important than whatever they’re on about. I have to understand it.

AMRATH: What is it? 

CALLA: You’re from Malachor. Do you know anything about a man named Darth Nihilus who had a skull mask?

AMRATH: Nihilus… Maybe. The name sounds familiar to my ears. But I do know a mask that belonged to my people. Until it didn’t. When the bad wind came. The hungry man.

CALLA: The hungry man?

AMRATH: He was tall. Wore a black and silver helmet. Had a red saber. He came looking for something. Another mask. When he got it my parents were angry. Said it was a holy relic of our people. They tried to take it back from him. But the mask gave him power... he ate their souls. 

CALLA: Kylo...

AMRATH: Some of our guards stole it from him, half fought him while the others hid it away in a box. But the power stayed with him. He ate them all. The mask gave him the hunger but it must have helped him control it too because after he lost it he started eating everything, I think by accident. People who weren’t fighting him, children in their houses nearby, even plants and animals. When he couldn’t find it, he left. 

[Calla looks down at the sand, regret in her eyes.]

CALLA: Then the shadow troopers came looking for it again…

AMRATH: Yes. How did you know that?

CALLA: I was… people talk. I heard it from some troopers.

AMRATH: You have the mask on your ship?

CALLA: Yes. I stole it from the troopers who took it from Malachor…. Do you want it back?

[Amrath looks uncomfortable] 

AMRATH: Um… no… I don’t want it. It hurt my people…. What are you going to do with it?

[He looks at her with fear.]

CALLA: I… I don’t know yet.

AMRATH: I think I’m going to go back inside now…. please don’t put it on. It only hurts people.

CALLA: But what if we can hurt the bad people?

AMRATH: Hurt is still hurt.

[He hugs her and drops the sandball behind him and turns to walk back to the base.]

[Calla heads inside. She walks over to her cot and retrieves the mask of Nihilus. She sits alone on the floor of the ship, the door closed. Turning the mask over in her hands.]

Calla: What are you….?

[The eye sockets gleam with a palpable emptiness.]

[She turns the mask over again, inspecting it. The crimson streaks above the eyes glint back at her.]

[She lifts the mask up closer to her face, investigating it. A distant guttural whispering is heard.]

[Calla raises the mask and slips it over the bridge of her nose, attaching it securely behind her ears.]

[The edges of the screen begin to swirl with a purple-black void. An alien speech dark and twisted grows louder, no words are audible.]

[Calla reaches out her hand and something breathes at the edges of her fingers. The air moves. She closes her eyes. The guttural otherworldly voice comes again. She feels a darkness grip her. Calla’s eyes snap open and we see that objects about the room are floating in mid air. She looks down and sees that she too is levitating a few inches off the floor. She gasps, loses focus, and drops back down, the floating objects falling around her.]

————————————————————————————————

**Scene 56: Rey and Ben**

Second Order Emperor’s quarters.

[Rey and Ben have finished meditating and are now standing, discussing what to do next.]

BEN: I’m sorry for the way I’ve been. I’ve wanted to end the fighting, but violence isn’t the way.

REY: What is, then?

BEN: I don’t know…. I was hoping you might have ideas.

REY: Well, let’s think about what the Resistance is doing, or what we know.

BEN: Last you spoke with them they were not open to a treaty.

REY: Yeah, Finn seemed receptive. But I think I’ve lost Poe. He thinks you’ve corrupted me.

BEN: Maybe we can show them otherwise. Prove we have changed.

REY: I’m not sure much could convince him. And with the ex-troopers gone….

BEN: The ETF too. They’re all likely on Jakku now.

REY: Poe will have them planning an assault.

BEN: They still won’t win in a fight. Even with all the troopers, there’s maybe two thousand. We have over a million here. If they fired upon us it would be a slaughter.

REY: We have to stop that from happening.

BEN: We could surrender.

REY: Surrender?

BEN: Yes. Give the capital over to them. I’ll answer to any justice they wish. They can execute me. I deserve it. Let someone else rule.

REY: And cause a civil war among them and all the troops still loyal to you? Also, they don’t know Coruscant, or the rest of the galaxy. They have no idea of the trade disputes on Kamino, or how to stave off the racial tensions on Mustafar. The poverty of Tatooine. The Second Order would only view them as a hostile occupation.

BEN: Then what do we do?

REY: Maybe we show them love. 

BEN: How?

REY: Let’s rebuild. 

BEN: How? Where?

REY: Yavin 4. We can go and distribute wealth and food to the people. Help their farmlands grow. Poe will see the troopers helping improve things. Should soften his heart. That’s where he’s from. 

BEN: Alright. We have two battalions guarding a trade ship in the Gordian Reach, a Terraforming vessel at Corva. We can have boots on the ground making a change in short order.

REY: Let’s hope this works.

————————————————————————-

**Scene 57: Momentum**

[We see a montage of the Resistance troopers fixing the Star Destroyer, painting it and their TIE fighters white with red and orange accents.]

[Poe and Finn are outside overseeing the paint job on the destroyer.]

POE: Not bad, looks like rebel colors to me.

FINN: What should we name it? All the best destroyers have names.

POE: How about… The Organa.

[Finn smiles.]

FINN: Perfect. 

[The camera shows that Calla is wearing the mask practicing her new powers. She focuses and quickly learns to levitate objects with good control. The Destroyer’s engines flare on as Rose and Wyler test them. Poe, Fae, and Finn outfit their X wings and Tie Fighters with guidance droids and missiles. The Troopers practice military drills in the sand outside the Destroyer. The turrets spin to life and swivel in various directions. Calla focuses on her blaster and dissasembles it with the force, the pieces floating in midair. She focuses in and slowly the pieces reassemble. Finn looks in from the window and sees Calla doing this. His eyes go wide.]

[The camera swipes away to a new planet, The colors very similar to Malachor 5, but with more greens and less purple. As the camera zooms in we see lush green fields of weeds and overgrown vines destroying the streets of a town. This is Starloft, on Yavin 4. We see many families living in poverty. Dying crops. A boy steals a coin purse from an elderly man and runs away. We hear children crying in the distance. The camera comes upon a small house with mismatched metal roofing. 

A woman with black hair and a tan complexion sits at the window painting. The cool light of the low evening suns softens her square jawline. Her painting, a mix of charcoal with some vibrant watercolor, shows the world outside her window, the black and drab colored buildings and streets. The piece has flowers scattered throughout it in spots where in the real world there are fires and smoke. The vivid pinks and violets of her brushstroke give a kindness to the otherwise oppressive world outside.]

[There is a noise high in the sky above Starloft. Jagged large silhouettes cut along the ground as they encroach. The people look up and shout in horror to see Second Order ships. They run into their homes and bar the doors.]

[The pitter patter of small feet is heard down the hall outside the room where the painter sits. She turns and we see a young boy enter the room hurriedly.]

DOM: Mommy, Mommy, they are coming!!!

LUNA: Come here, sweetie, it’ll be alright.

[Dom runs into Luna’s outstretched arms.]

DOM: What do we do? 

LUNA: Don’t you fret a thing. I’ll fight them back.

[She brandishes one of her brushes teasingly]

LUNA: They even think about coming close, I'll paint them out of existence.

[She smiles and kisses Dom on the forehead.]

[The ships land and lower their ramps. Stormtroopers exit pushing hovercarts full of green and blue boxes. More come out bringing huge quantities of food. One by one people peek out of their houses to see what is happening. Some whisper among themselves. A few fear it is a trap. Others are convinced the goods must not be for them.]

[The camera pans back to Luna and Dom. She has a wary look about her. That look holds for a few beats. Then she looks down at Dom, and looks back]

[A helmetless stormtrooper walks into the town square, holds a megacomm transceiver up to her mouth and speaks into it.]

TROOPER: People of Starloft and Yavin 4. We come in peace. This is no trick or trap. I assure you, if we wanted to harm you, we would have done so by now. Please, come and get supplies. There are more than enough for everyone. We help rebuild what the Empire broke and will sow good crops in your farmland. Come!

[The people are apprehensive, but over time one citizen approaches, then another, and another. Carpenters come. Masons. Nerf-herders. Farmers. More and more come.

[As more approach the troopers, there is a spark of hope in Luna’s bright brown eyes.]

[A lens swipe brings us back to Calla’s ship. She is wearing the mask, looking out the cockpit into the sands beyond, caught up in a trance. A distant otherworldly whispering can be heard in muted tones. There is a sudden knock at the door. Calla snaps out of her trance and shakes her head slightly. The knock comes again. Calla removes the mask, stores it in her locker, and goes to the door, opening it. The metal swivels away to reveal Finn standing outside.]

CALLA: Finn! To what do I owe the pleasure?

FINN: Hey, can I come in?

CALLA: I was actually just about to head out back to the base. Kind of in a rush….

FINN: I saw you levitating stuff. Let’s talk about it.

[Calla is taken aback.]

CALLA: Uh, yes. Sure. Come on in.

[Finn enters] 

FINN: So you’re a jedi now too? Seems like everyone is getting abilities except for me. 

CALLA: I... I don’t know if I’d say that. 

FINN: What then?

CALLA: It’s hard to explain. The mask…. it allowed me to use the force.

[FInn’s brow furrows.]

FINN: What do you mean, the mask?

CALLA: I don’t know how or why, it seems alive somehow. Inhabited.

FINN: Can I use it? 

CALLA: You, why?

FINN: I had this vision. Of the future. Coruscant burning and me captured. Rey killing me. Amrath says that the force is a moving thing, if you have it your visions can be wrong, but without it they always come true. If you would let me use it, just long enough to get power — 

[Finn starts moving the blanket on her cot and turning over the pillows, looking for the mask.]

CALLA: Finn, you don’t understand. Hey, stop!

FINN: Where is it? Give it to me. Now!

[Finn opens one of the lockers next to Calla’s]

CALLA: I need you to leave, Finn.

FINN: It won’t take long.

[Finn pulls his blaster out and trains it on Calla.]

FINN: Listen. The Resistance relies on it. We’re all doomed if I don’t get it.

[Calla stretches out a hand and freezes him in place.]

CALLA: No, you listen. That Mask is more than just some magic artifact that gives powers. It’s alive. It’s dark. Look at you. You’re a hero of the Resistance. 

FINN: Yes, I’m a hero, so give it to me!

CALLA: You’re also emotionally volatile. Your fear is what drove you to leave the First Order. Your love of your friends gives you the resolve to fight. The dark side feeds on emotion. The mask would consume you. If you survived you’d be corrupted entirely. The Resistance can’t lose you to it. It would crush all the troopers who are inspired by that fiery heart of yours. Your vision might not come true, but the spark of rebellion would go out. You’re a symbol, Finn. Don’t take that away from us.

[Finn looks downcast, his eyes somber as Calla’s words sink in.]

FINN (calmer now): Okay…. you’re right. I’m sorry.

[Calla releases him.]

[he puts his blaster away]

CALLA: Go. I won’t speak of this to anyone.

[Finn nods and leaves.]

[The camera moves back into the comms room of the now functional destroyer.]

[The console rings an incoming call. Saro answers.]

SARO: Hello. Who’s there?

[The screen flicks to life. It’s Luna Dameron.]

LUNA: Hello, is this the Resistance?

SARO: Who’s asking?

LUNA: I’m calling to speak with Poe, can you get him for me? It’s his sister, Luna.

SARO: Sister? Uh, yeah. I’ll go get him, one moment.

[A few minutes later Poe is in the comms room, his eyes light up to see her. C-3PO is standing behind him.]

POE: Luna! How is it you’re calling?! Did you get off planet? Are you okay?

LUNA: I’m good, really good, Poe. Did I hear them call you Commander when you came in? I’m so proud of you! No, I’m still on Yavin 4. We have comms here now. It’s a miracle.

POE: What happened, how? 

LUNA: There’s food and supplies too. The Second Order brought it. Dom and I are set for the whole year, isn’t that wonderful! 

POE: That doesn’t sound straight. This must be a trap. Have they bought you off? 

LUNA: No, everyone here is doing well. Not just me. They’re terraforming now too. And fixing the roads. 

POE: What do they want from you? Did they tell you to call me?

LUNA: No, no one told me anything. Don’t you believe me. Poe, it’s me! You know me.

[A look of softness comes across Poe’s face.]

POE: I… I do know you Luna. I believe you. I’m happy you and Dom are doing well… But I don’t know if I can trust this. There has to be a motive here. Why did they choose Yavin 4 to help out of all the planets?

C-3PO: Actually, sir there are reports that the Second Order has sent relief efforts to many systems across the galaxy.

POE: Can it, 3-PO.

LUNA: Poe, come home. There’s more than enough goods for you and the Resistance here. Let’s be a family again.

POE: I… I wish I could. But even if this is well-intentioned, I can’t believe that Kylo has changed for good. He’s done this before. He always wavers then slips up and fails harder and goes darker. We have to take him out. I will come home, Luna. Soon. See you after the war.

[He cuts off the feed.]

[Poe has a concerned look on his face as he thinks to himself, then he turns and flicks on the speaker system and delivers a message to everyone in the ship.]

POE: All units to the bridge. Finalize preparations. It’s time.

————————————————————————————————————--

**Scene 58: Poe’s Call To Arms**

[Poe is giving a speech to the troops.]

POE: You are all here because you believe in an era of peace. For decades, the Empire ruled the galaxy with terror. Their fall only gave way to the First Order, a bunch of angry jingoist imperial kids playing dress up in the uniforms of their fathers. They spread instability and death throughout the galaxy.

[There is a rumble of agreeance from the crowd.]

POE: Now they are calling themselves the Second Order. You may have heard of so called good deeds, even my own home planet seems to have had a visit from their supply ships. But Kylo is not to be trusted. I assure you this is either a ruse to set us off our guard, or a flash and its gone moment of kindness. 

[More murmurs of support.]

POE: Our dear friend Rey has been blinded by Kylo’s mind control powers. She follows him like a sheep. Or worse, she goes willingly and is truly lost. Whatever the case, she has chosen her side. I will not hesitate to do what is necessary, should we meet on the battlefield. I expect the same from all of you. 

[The camera swipes to ex-stormtrooper boarding their white painted tie fighters side by side with their Resistance allies getting in their X-Wings. Poe’s speech continues in voice over.]

POE: Today marks the end of the Second Order and the dawn of a new era of peace for the galaxy. We are the Resistance, our name may have changed, but our ideals are the same as Leia, as Ackbar, and as Luke Skywalker. We are the Rebellion reborn. Now to your ships. Keep hope in your hearts. Keep your eyes sharp and look out for your squadmates, and we will be victorious. May the force be with you.

[As Poe says these final lines we see The Organa lift up out of the sand, its engine ignite, and its turrets come to life. We see resolve on Poe’s face, determination in Rose’s eyes, hope in Finn’s gaze, and Nihilus’ mask hiding Calla’s thoughts as she looks off into the horizon out the destroyer’s bay windows. There is a whirring sound as the hyperdrive warms up and The Organa lurches into hyperspace.]

——————————————————————————————————————————

**Scene 59: The Final Battle**

Coruscant, patio exterior of the Second Order Consulate Complex. Ben and Rey are looking up at the evening sky, reds and golds cut through the dark pink clouds.

REY: They are coming.

BEN: I sense it too. What do we do? 

REY: I don’t want to hurt them. 

[Rey looks down at the city below, sees the countless houses, the families playing in their quadrants.]

REY: But I don’t know if they will let us live. The Resistance sees all Second Order as the enemy. They don’t distinguish between civilian and military.

BEN: Maybe we can reason with them. Mind trick if necessary.

REY: I can’t mind trick thousands. And in their ships. That’s too far.

BEN: Maybe we don’t need to. If we can get Poe to parley with us, discuss things.

REY: And mind trick him? Is that ethical?

BEN: To stop bloodshed? To end the war? I think it’s worth it.

REY: Can we keep him suppressed for hours? Days? How long do you think it will take?

BEN: We’ll do what we have to do. But ready our defenses, just in case.

[As they watch the sky they see hundreds of ships enter the atmosphere, in the center, The Organa.]

[The camera swipes to the interior of the destroyer. Poe, Fae, Calla wearing the mask, and Finn are looking at the read outs as a handful of others man the stations around them.] 

[The commlink in front of Fae blinks on. She presses the button to accept the call. It’s Rey and Ben.]

FAE: Suprem — I mean, Kylo. What do you want?

BEN: FA48, hello. I see you’ve reassessed your priorities.

FAE: It’s Fae now. And we all have, the entire ETF. Your terror is not the way, Ren. You cannot enforce peace with violence. We have come to relieve you of your duty.

BEN: As well you should. I respect that choice. 

FAE: I — what?

BEN: Can we speak with your commanding officer?

[Fae doesn’t respond. She just looks from Ben to Poe and back.]

BEN: Please?

[Poe nods and walks over to the comms table.]

POE: You have thirty seconds, Ren.

REY: Poe, please, listen. Even with all your reinforcements, the Resistance is hopelessly outnumbered. 

POE: So you called just to gloat? I thought that was beneath you, Rey. You really are slipping.

REY: That’s not what I meant. I mean let’s not have a battle.

POE: If you haven’t noticed, we have a star destroyer.

BEN: Yes, very impressive. We have over 300 just on this planet, more on the way if we call them. You can’t win, hotshot.

[Poe crinkles his nose at the name.]

REY: We called to negotiate. Please, come meet us. Parley. We can figure something out.

[Poe has a look of disgust on his face. Finn touches his hand. Poe’s face softens.]

POE: I…

[Calla steps forward.]

CALLA: It’s a trap.

FINN: What?

CALLA: I can sense their intention. They aim to mind control Poe to call off the assault. 

[Poe retracts his hand from Finn’s, a look of betrayal on his face.]

POE: No. We will not parley. The only diplomacy you deserve are aggressive negotiations. Rey?

REY: Yes, Poe?

POE: For what it’s worth, it was good being your friend. While it lasted... See you in hell.

[He hangs up the call.]

[Poe presses a button on the dash in front of him. The static of the speaker system comes on.]

POE: Go. Now.

[The docking bay opens and swarms of white TIE Fighters descend on the planet below. The Falcon leads the assault, piloted by Chewbacca with Amrath as co-pilot and C3-PO in the gunner seat.]

[From the surface of Coruscant, defense turrets turn to face the sky.]

[The camera shows Ben and Rey looking grimly at one another.]

[Rey holds a commlink to her mouth to speak to the pilots.]

REY: Be ready for an assault…. But only defend yourselves. You are not to fire unless fired upon. Understood?

[A series of voices meets her from the other end.]

PILOT 1: Yes.

PILOT 2: Understood.

PILOT 3: Yes, Empress.

[Black Tie Fighters rise from the ground below to meet those of the Resistance, but they do not fire.]

FINN: They have us in range of their sights, why aren’t they firing?

POE: Because they’re cowards. 

[Poe switches to the comms so he can speak to the pilots.]

POE: Give no quarter. Take no prisoners. Kill them all.

[Below The Organa, the Resistance lays fire into the waiting squad of TIES. Some are hit, most dodge and return fire.]

[X-wings zoom and swoop down to the planet’s surface, shooting at the defense turrets and into the civilian quarters.]

[The Resistance gains ground.]

[The Falcon bombards enemy TIE Fighters, weaving in and out of their fire. Each it passes is hit by C-3PO’s fire and explodes.]

C-3PO: Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry.

[The surface of the planet opens up and dozens of Second Order star destroyers rise to enter the fray.]

FINN: Holy — 

CALLA: We have to take out the Emperor and Empress. It’s our only chance.

POE: Fae, you take the bridge. Send the Ex-ETF. Calla, Finn, and I are getting in our own ships.

FAE: Yessir.

[We see Poe getting in his X-Wing with R2D2 in the droid assist seat. Finn boards a white and gold armored TIE fighter, and Calla gets into her ship. Each departs The Organa.]

[X-Wings and TIEs meet in the air, a dangerous dance of laser fire. Some X-Wings fly down into the streets of Coruscant, cutting through the trenches formed by the gaps between skyscrapers, laying waste to the shops and bars below.]

[TIE fighters circle each other and attempt to out maneuver one another.]

[The Second Order destroyers send TIE bombers and interceptors into the battle. For every one Second Order ship that the Resistance kills, five more take its place. Before long the sky is blackened with the sheer number of ships.]

[Poe’s black X-Wing spins and barrel rolls through the swaths of Second Order ships.]

[Calla’s tracking unit alerts her to the heat signatures of Ben and Rey. She zips through enemy fire with grace. She cloaks her ship and escapes the oncoming fire.]

[Finn’s white and Gold TIE circles the perimeter of the area as he surveys the battle.]

[Rey looks out the window and sees the ship, sensing him.]

REY: Finn…

[She frowns.]

[Wyler and Saro are flying a TIE/rb with Wyler in the Pilot’s seat and Saro in the Bomber’s station. They jet down into the swarm of TIEs and make their way to one of the destroyers, drawing its fire as they dodge and deflect its beams with their heavy shields.]

[Camera cut to the Organa.]

[Fae speaks into the comm.]

FAE: Rose, what’s the status on our ship?

ROSE: No substantial damage yet, this thing’s a beast.

FAE: Good to hear. Keep me updated

ROSE: Roger that. 

[The camera goes back to the battle.]

[Calla’s cloaked ship lands on the balcony of the Emperor’s quarters. She pulls the hood of her cloak up over her mask and exits the ship. As she walks toward the balcony doors, we see her silhouetted against the sky afire with burning ships behind her.] 

[Rey and Ben sense her arrival and turn toward the locked doors just as she approaches on the other side. Calla stretches out a hand and twitches her fingers. The reinforced glass walls shatter with the force. Sparkles of light bounce off the shards as they fall to the floor. Calla steps over the broken glass and enters the Emperor’s chambers. Ben and Rey draw their sabers. Ben’s red cross guard saber comes to life, as does Rey’s dual bladed blue one. The balance of the blades bathing the room around them in colored light. Calla pulls out the dark saber and ignites it.]

[Poe joins Wyler and Saro in attacking the star destroyer. They zip this way and that way along its surface. The destroyer’s canons take aim and fire, but the small ships are too fast. ]

POE: Ready?

SARO: Ready. You’ll have ten seconds, Poe.

POE: I only need nine.

[Saro drops an EMP bomb into its core and disables the shields.] 

SARO: GO!

[Poe cuts off his thrusters, diverts power to his guns, and sends his ship into a spiraling freefall, shooting the power couplings and he falls parallel to its length. He turns the thrusters back on at the last moment and the two ships pull up to safety away from the exploding hull.]

POE: WAHOO!!!

WYLER (to Saro) : He really is quite impressive.

SARO (To Wyler): Not bad, I guess.

[Elsewhere in the sky, the Resistance is not doing as well. X-wings and white TIEs are falling to the laser fire of Second Order ships by the dozens, the air full explosions, and muffled screams from cockpits. Finn flys over the scene, inspecting the carnage. His commlink turns on.]

POE (to Finn): You see that, Finn? Me and the ETF muscle just took out a destroyer!!!

[Looking out his cockpit, Finn sees the carnage below, his ex-trooper allies, the ones who defected inspired by his story, dying by the dozens all around him. Looking to his left he sees a fleet of Second Order ships approaching. Among them must be ten dreadnaughts and another thirty base class star destroyers.]

FINN (to himself): Yeah… one.

[Finn shakes his head grimly. He looks out into the night and sees the encroaching darkness. All hope he had of victory disappearing with the sun.]

[The Organa is under assault from three nearby Second Order destroyers and their fleets.]

[An impact shakes the ship and Fae stumbles, barely catching herself.]

FAE: Rose, Report!

ROSE: Shields destroyed. Armor compromised. I — I don’t know how much more we can take.

[The camera swipes to the Emperor's chambers. Rey and Ben are circling Calla. The Darksaber held out to them threateningly.]

BEN: I don’t want to hurt you, CLA1337… 

REY: Let’s talk this through.

[When she talks, Calla’s voice is distorted with an alien reverb, twisted by the darkness of Nihilus’s lifeforce trapped inside the mask.]

CALLA: No. Your reign of anguish is done, Kylo. I served you. I believed in you…. and you killed ENK. Killed the spark of hope I had for a better empire. You will die.

[Calla leaps toward Ben and Rey, moving with impossible speed. Both of them move to block her strikes, but do not return blows.]

BEN: I was corrupted by that very mask you wear now. Its hunger. Can you feel it? It’s eating you, captain. When it is done there will be nothing left of you.

CALLA: And I will be one with it, together we’ll be powerful enough to rid the galaxy of the horror of Kylo Ren. There will be peace.

[Calla strikes again, behind her back at Rey and forward at Ben with the same fluid stroke.]

[Rey dodges the attack and Kylo stops the blade with the force, holding Calla in place momentarily.]

BEN: I deserve to die for my sins, you aren’t wrong. But there can be no redemption in death. I will finish what my grandfather started, I will live. Be a force for recompense. 

[Calla breaks through his hold and Ben stumbles backward.]

CALLA: No. You will die.

[She stretches out her left hand and the air at her fingertips crackles. Blue lightning arcs from her and blasts Ben backward, his body spasming in pain.]

CALLA: You have the hunger still in you, Kylo. I can feel it. You could end this, eat all our souls. But you’re a coward. 

REY: Enough!

[Rey jumps at Calla, her blue blade aimed toward the once ETF Captain’s head. Calla’s right hand brings the dark saber up to block Rey’s attack as she continues to electrocute Ben with her left.

CALLA: Not all self defense, now are we?

[Rey looks to Ben, sees him twitching in pain on the ground, and looks back to Calla.]

[Rey twists free from Calla’s locked saber, turning her blade off for the freedom of movement, dropping the double bladed saber and crouching then igniting it again to swipe at Calla’s feet.]

[Calla leaps backward, letting go the electrocution on Ben to focus enough to dodge Rey’s strike.]

[Ben gasps for air.]

[The camera cuts back to Finn.]

[Finn looks out at the approaching Second Order reinforcements, there must be forty or fifty more star destroyers heading toward them. He shakes his head. Then he glances down below and inspects the read out of the city streets.]

[A look of resolve comes to his eyes. Finn inputs a code into his TIE’s command console, broadcasting to all other allied TIEs.]

FINN: My once stormtrooper brothers and sisters. Can you hear me?

WYLER: Finn?

EX-TROOPER 1: Hey it’s Finn.

SARO: What can we do for you, sir?

EX-TROOPER 2: Loud and clear, commander.

FINN: Wyler, you take Red and Orange Squadrons, distract the destroyers. Attack, but only enough to keep their attention, stay out of range of their cannons. Silver and Gold squadrons, follow me.

[Finn circles the field to give the others long enough to adjust their course, and then he dives down toward the surface. Gold and Silver Squadrons follow him down.]

[Wyler and Saro pilot their TIE/rb toward the destroyers to attract their fire while staying at a comfortable distance.]

[Finn dives under a pearlescent awning into a warehouse complex and lands his TIE, Gold and Silver Squadrons follow him in.]

FINN: My friends, this is a war we cannot win.

EX-TROOPER 3: But — 

FINN: Listen to me. We are safe here. Look at the coating.

EX-TROOPER 4: Simplex Alloy… oh!

FINN: Exactly. Their radars can’t detect us. Lay low. Let them kill each other. I’m going to try to reason with Poe, I’ll save those I can. Bring more back here. We don’t all have to die.

EX-TROOPER 5: Understood. May the force be with you.

[Finn’s white and gold armored TIE lurches back up into the battle scarred sky.]

[The Organa is on fire. Red lights and alarms flash inside.]

FAE: Rose, report!

ROSE: Guns are down. Structural damage critical.

FAE: Any bright ideas?

ROSE: Depends on what you want, commander. We could try the Holdo Maneuver…

[The Organa trembles at the impact of a set of missiles on its starboard side.]

FAE: And risk the lives of our own, down there? No.

ROSE: I can divert all power to the shields, then short maybe the circuit and pulse alternate the thrusters, might get us to safety…. might not.

FAE: Do it.

[Rose flips some switches, turns the appropriate dials, the lights on the ship dim. A blue shield coats the exterior. It crackles weakly but withstands the incoming barrage. Rose pulls a lever and The Organa lurches forward, the shields off and the engine thruster overcharged, She repeats this as the destroyers chase The Organa. With each cycle it gets farther and farther out of their range. But as they do so the ship tears itself apart from the effort. They escape to the outer edges of the atmosphere, panels and wires frayed and sparking. But they are alive.]

FAE: You did it!

ROSE: Yea, luckily —

[But she is cut off as a shadow passes outside their window. Rose looks out and sees reinforcements. What must be a hundred more star destroyers entering the expanse above Coruscant, flanking The Organa on both sides as they jump in from hyperspace.]

ROSE: Oh no….

FAE: Hit it! Get us out of here!

[The canons on the two destroyers on either side of them warm up as they prepare to fire upon The Organa.]

[Rose hits another switch and readies the hyperdrive.]

[The ships on either side fire, both overcharged and double shot to pierce shields and lay waste on impact.]

[The Organa’s hyper drive engages. The ship zips off into the dark.]

[Each of the destroyers’ cannons pass through the space where The Organa was, hitting each other. One of the destroyers’ fuel cells ignites and both ships explode.]

[In the vast tunnel of hyperspace, The Organa enters, already battered. Shaking. The ignition from entry bursts through the hull and the entire ship is engulfed in blue flames.]

[Camera cuts back to Coruscant.]

[The Falcon has sustained moderate damage. Its satellite dish is blown off and smoke is coming from its starboard side, but it’s still flying straight. The Falcon rises up into the sky and does a loop de loop, losing the Second Order TIEs that were following it, shooting them out of the sky.]

[Finn is circling the battlefield, calling into his allies]

FINN: Red and blue squadrons, on my tail, stick close!

[More TIEs fall in line behind him as Wyler, Saro, Poe, and Black Squadron draw fire.]

FINN: Poe, come with us!

POE: Go! We’ll lay cover fire

FINN: There’s too many of them. We have to surrender! 

POE: Get those you can and hide! I’ll hold them off!

FINN: No. That’s not the answer.

POE: That’s an order. Go!

[Through the flurry of fire, Poe’s ship zigs and zags through the sky. Wyler and Saro and the rest of black squadron's X-Wings and TIEs assisting Poe’s efforts.]

POE: Chewy, you and 3-PO follow Finn. Get the kid to safety.

[Chewy brays sadly but does as Poe asks.]

[Finn brings the Falcon, Blue and Red squadrons to the bunker safely.]

[The reinforcement fleet of destroyers above Coruscant enters the atmosphere. Poe looks up and sees his squadron of 50 remaining ships met with hundreds of star destroyers.]

[He frowns. Dials something into his comm. A few moments later a voice meets him.]

LUNA: Hello?

POE: Hey, sis. It’s me.

LUNA: Poe, what’s going on?

POE: I… Don’t know if we can get out of this, Luna.

LUNA: What are you talking about?

POE: Tomorrow at dusk… if you don’t hear from me by then... take Dom to the Heroes’ Ridge. You know the spot. Where mom took us. Tell him about his Uncle Poe. Talk to him about the spark.

LUNA: Poe, don’t…

POE: I love you, sis. 

LUNA: Poe… I — 

POE: I know.

[Poe shuts off his commlink and closes his eyes. He exhales slowly and opens them again.]

[He turns his X-Wing to face the approaching fleet.]

POE: Wyler, Saro. You and Black Squadron follow Finn. 

WYLER: No sir. We’re with you till the end.

[Poe frowns.]

POE: Alright.

[He and Wyler pilot themselves toward the incoming fleet, black squadron protecting them the best they can but suffering heavy losses.]

[Poe’s X-Wing zooms close to the approaching reinforcements. They fire but he barrel rolls out of the way. Wyler and Saro let loose another EMP bomb, but it is shot out of the sky by one of the defense turrets.]

WYLER: Any ideas?

POE: One. It won’t be pretty… cover me

SARO: Yessir.

[Poe reverse fires at the destroyers and turns his ship to fly straight toward the Consulate building, firing upon it. Hundreds of Ties fly down to chase him. He disengages his engines and flies toward the capitol building slowly. The Second Order TIEs fire at his X-wing. Poe turns his portside engine back on to send the X-Wing spinning quickly, in an unpredictable spiral. The TIEs fire but miss, their shots passing Poe and hitting the sides of the Consulate complex.]

[Inside Rey, Ben, and Calla are still fighting. As Poe approaches, they all turn to look. They sense him engaging his hyperdrive for a suicide assault.]

POE: Come on, Holdo….

[Calla reaches out and slows Poe’s approach slightly, the laser fire from the TIES hitting the building, making her, Rey, and Ben stumble as the ground beneath them shakes.]

CALLA: The idiot. He’ll kill us all! All the fuel here, the planet will shatter!

[Rey and Ben look at each other then both reach out their hands to help Calla in slowing Poe.]

[They freeze his ship in place.]

POE: No….

[The Hyperdrive of his ship engages.]

[The engines ignite.]

[Poe’s X-wing glows and pulses with light. Then it explodes, the force of a non moving hyperdrive expands just outside the window of the Consulate Complex. A fiery ball of white yellow death. Rey, Calla, and Ben focus their energy. The Hyperspace-bomb erupts. Together the three focus their energy. The ball of flame stops in place and swirls. Rey, Ben, and Calla clench their fists and the explosion goes out. They all fall to the ground exhausted.]

[Ben is the first to get to his feet. He looks out at the sky above. Only a few Resistance fighters remain. He calls into the pilots of the destroyers on his comm.]

BEN: Everyone engage shields and stand down. Let the Resistance rest. It’s over.

[Rey stands to meet him.]

REY: Poe…

[Tears come to her eyes.]

[Ben walks over to Calla and extends a hand to help her up.]

[Calla looks at his outstretched hand confused.]

CALLA: You’re not going to… kill me?

BEN: No. Violence only in self defense. Come.

[Calla considers his hand for a moment, then takes it and stands. She removes the mask and drops it to the ground.]

CALLA: Kylo… I’m sorry. All this violence. I should have stopped it…

[Ben wraps his arms around her to comfort Calla.]

BEN: It’s Ben. And I sense you have another name now too.

CALLA: Yes… Calla. I failed you, my Emperor. I didn’t believe in you.

BEN: Just Ben is fine. And you didn’t fail anyone. I gave you every reason to doubt. Come, help us rebuild, with whatever is left of the Resistance. Doesn’t look like much.

[Rey closes her eyes.]

REY: There’s more. I sense them. Finn. He’s hiding them. 

—————————————————————————

**Scene 60: Consequences**

The outer terrace of the Second Order Consulate Complex. The sun is rising in the background casting overlaying red and yellows into the sky. Smoke and ash fill the air. Emperor Ben and Empress Rey pace in front of a legion of stormtroopers.

[The sounds are muffled and echoey. Distant screams can be heard as families discover more and more of their dead.]

[A group of beaten and battered Resistance soldiers are in handcuffs being guarded by troopers.]

[Ben walks over to Rey. She is wearing the same dark robes as earlier, the same silver tiara. Her hair is pulled up in the same regal bun, singes run along her cape and dirt and blood smear her face. She and Ben both look somber.]

[Chewbacca, Amrath, and C-3PO are all handcuffed standing off to the side, guarded by troopers.]

C-3PO: Oh, dear.

[Rey stands at a podium and addresses the crowd of troopers.]

REY: The Resistance is defeated!

[There is a roar of applause from the legion of troopers and those civilians standing in the audience.]

[The doors behind Ben and Rey open and two armed stormtroopers emerge from inside the building, walking on either side of a hooded figure in shackles.]

REY: Finally, the war is over. The Second Order Reigns!

[The crowd cheers for her.]

REY: And yet, there remains consequences to be seen. Justice to be delivered.

[Rey walks back to stand by Ben’s side.]

[The troopers reach the front of the balcony in the center view of the waiting crowd. They remove the hood from their prisoner’s head. We see that it is Finn. His face bruised and bloody.]

[Rey looks at Ben, he nods.]

[She walks forward to Finn. The Troopers step back.]

[Rey reaches into her black cloak and draws her saber.]

[Finn looks up at her in horror.]

[She ignites the blades, Finn’s fearful eyes illuminated in their blue glow.]

[She raises the saber high and brings it down forcefully toward his waiting neck.]

[The blade stops just shy of Finn’s throat.]

REY: Finn. Once Stormtrooper FN2187 turned rebel.

[Rey raises it the saber again and lowers it to the other side of his neck.] 

REY: You have proven your true colors.

[Finn’s eyes twitch at the light and heat of the saber.]

REY: Jedi and Sith, we have hated one another for eons. So much talk of balance, both sides thinking it to mean extinguishing the other. But we’ve been lied to.

[The crowd goes quiet as they listen.]

BEN: Be it known to all here in attendance, that Finn of the rebellion, when given a direct order from his commander to attack, refused to do so. Instead he chose not to kill what he hated, but to save what he loved. He risked himself to get hundreds of Ex-troopers to safety.

FINN: What… what are you doing…?

[Rey raises her saber high above her head.]

REY: As Empress of the Second Order, I hereby absolve Finn of all supposed crimes against us. Anything he did, he did for love. He did for peace. He is the Hope we have all talked so much about for years. The very embodiment of balance. Dark and Light both flowed through him in an effort to kill one another — and yet he rejected hate.

[Rey lowers her saber again, on each side of his shoulders.]

BEN: Finn has knowledge of empire tactics and he has studied the jedi texts! Finn, to you we extend an offer.

FINN: What offer?

REY: Ben and I would reform the way the force is taught in the galaxy. Let the past die. Be something better. If you would accept it, I would have you lead our troops in establishing peace and helping to make amends.

FINN: Me a general?

REY: Not a general. Forget Jedi and Sith, forget the force. It does not make us better than one another. I would dub thee First Knight in the new order of Skywalkers. A band sworn to protect peace and promote empathy throughout the galaxy.

FINN: Uh.. and if I refuse, would you kill me?

BEN: No. Of course not. You’re free to leave if you wish. You all are, so long as you would go in peace.

[Rey waves her hand and the prisoners are unshackled.]

[Finn thinks it over for a moment. Then looks back up at Rey.]

FINN: I accept.

[Rey and Finn hug!]

[In the background we see force ghosts of Luke, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and finally Anakin.]

[Ben looks to his grandfather. Anakin smiles and nods his approval.]

[The camera turns toward the stars and Leia’s theme plays.]

————————————————————————————

[The song continues for a few stanzas then yellow words come onto the screen.]

**Crawl**

In the following months, Finn and Empress Rey establish a new order of Knights. The Skywalkers stand as bastions of kindness and empathy for the galaxy. Not all of them use the force, but those that do are taught to harness both the light and the dark side equally, to use joy instead of hate to fuel their passion and keep an eye to logic to temper their emotions. 

Emperor Ben leads the efforts to bring food and peace to disenfranchised systems, living to make right the sins of Kylo Ren. The mask of Darth Nihilus is destroyed. The planet Dantooine is renamed Calrissian in honor of Lando. On Yavin 4 they celebrate Dameron Day. 

Those among the Resistance who do not wish to be part of the Second Order establish their home on Malachor 5 as an independent planet. They are led by Governess Calla as they work to nourish the soil and bring life to the planet, providing a haven for all who wish to pursue peace on their own terms.


End file.
